


A Single Strike

by Artymys



Series: Sterek Drabbles [6]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Abuse, Abusive Relationship, Alpha Derek, Alpha Derek Hale, Angst, Angst and Fluff, Angst with a Happy Ending, Blood, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Domestic Violence, Drunken Confessions, Drunkenness, Fox Stiles, Fox Stiles Stilinski, Hurt, Hurt Stiles, Hybrid Stiles, Hybrid Stiles Stilinski, Lightning - Freeform, Lightning Strike - Freeform, Long One Shot, M/M, Magic, Magic Stiles, Magical Stiles Stilinski, Magical stiles, Nemeton, Non-Traditional Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Omega Stiles, Omega Stiles Stilinski, One Shot, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Physical Abuse, Protective Derek, Protective Derek Hale, Protective Erica, Protective Isaac, Protective Isaac Lahey, Protective Pack, Protective Vernon Boyd, Spark Stiles, Spark Wolf, Spark Wolf Stiles, Spark Wolf Stiles Stilinski, Werewolf Stiles Stilinski, Wolf Stiles, Wolf Stiles Stilinski, angsty, domestic abuse, werewolf Stiles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:28:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 31,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27982329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artymys/pseuds/Artymys
Summary: When Stiles showed up to Lydia's party, the last thing he expected to do was blurt his feelings out to Derek; even less than that he hadn't expected Derek to reject him only for him to fall into the arms of the worst possible person. Nor did he expect what came after.
Relationships: Derek Hale & Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski, Stiles Stilinski/Original Male Character(s)
Series: Sterek Drabbles [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1988038
Comments: 6
Kudos: 178
Collections: Teen wolf





	A Single Strike

**Author's Note:**

> _Abusive Relationship, Blood, Near Death, Cult-like Pack___

_**BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!**_

Flailing an arm out from beneath the pile of blankets, Stiles blindly reached for his phone in an attempt to kill the shrill noise that was coming from it. Usually it wasn’t so jarring, but then again Stiles’ isn’t usually hung over when it’s going off. 

_That’s the last time I go to a party with Scott and the rest of the pack. The last thing I need is drunk me trying to outdrink a bunch of werewolves. Not to mention, drunk me runs his mouth too freely._

Once the accursed noise stopped, Stiles buried himself back beneath the blankets; not only to block out the obnoxious amount of light that was pouring in through his window but also in the hopes that he could hide from the consequences of everything that happened the night before. Honestly, he would have thought it was all some kind of a huge nightmare if it weren’t for one little detail. 

The heavy arms slung over his waist and the solid heat that was pressed against his back. Rubbing a hand over his face, Stiles decided it was time for him to try and get out of bed; ideally without waking the man behind him. It took some work, but Stiles was able to slide out from beneath the arm and the blankets; making a b-line for the bathroom, the shower to be more specific. Turning the water on as hot as he could possibly handle it, Stiles stretched and did everything else he needed to do while the water heated; the whole time his brain trying to replay the events of the night before. 

It wasn’t until he was finally under the scalding hot shower that he wasn’t able to keep his thoughts from wandering to the night before. 

~~

_Parties. At first Stiles thought they were great, and they were, but then their group dynamic changed and they stopped being as much fun. Before he could get drunk, have a good time, and call it a night. Now.... now every time there was a party that the kids in the pack went to, Derek followed. And not to join in, mostly just to glare and look amazing. Which meant that Stiles didn't drink, since drinking lead to a dangerously honest and blunt version of himself that would just embarrass the shit out of himself by doing something stupid like tell Derek Hale that he loved him. Stupid, gorgeous sour wolf. So, when Lydia threw her yearly birthday bash, Stiles had no intention of getting wasted. The problem was that Lydia had picked the loft, for some reason, and no one seemed content to let his cup run dry. He didn't even see them fill it anymore, and truthfully he didn't care anymore. He was having a good time and the only thing that would make it better was if Derek was dancing with him. Or fucking him. Yes, that sounded much better than his own fingers tonight. He could only imagine. Stiles was pushing past being fuzzy drunk when he finally decided it was time to find the damn broody man and talk to him. That was how he found himself stumbling into Derek's office, smiling big as an idiot, when he saw Derek there. "I was lookin' f'r you!" He exclaimed far more loudly than he probably should have, tripping over his tongue just a bit. "We gotta talk." He said as he sat himself on Derek's desk, just barely holding back the chuckle at the idea of Stiles being some slutty secretary and Derek the big hotshot CEO._

_Stiles registered the narrowing of Derek’s eyes as he set aside the book he was reading but decided to ignore it in favor of his current objective. Telling Derek how he felt about him, and hopefully getting down and dirty with the very sexy werewolf._ **_“We do?”_ ** _Even the normal edge that was always present in Derek’s voice always caused a shiver to run through Stiles’ spine._

_Stiles hooked one of his feet into Derek's chair to pull it closer, the move looking much better in his head. In reality, it nearly pulled him off of the desk, but he caught himself. "Yes." Stiles cleared his throat, using it to steady his nerves. What was the worst that could happen? Derek could say no, fuck no, really. "I like you!" He blurted out, leaning a bit forward, closer to Derek's heat, fuck he was nice and warm in the cold loft. Stiles was so distracted by Derek’s warmth that he didn’t notice the way he almost reached out to grab at Stiles, only to stop and grab the desk instead._

**_“Okay…”_ ** _Even through Stiles’ drunken haze, he could hear the hesitation in Derek’s voice._ **_“You are pack, so that’s not unexpected. And I suppose that’s a step up from hating me.”_ **

_Stiles groaned and shook his head, grabbing onto the desk when he realized that that wasn’t the best plan and the world tilted for a second. Once he was sure he wouldn't vomit all over the place he looked at Derek again. "No, not jus' like 'my buddy Derek' but like....I like you." Stiles made a face of frustration before he got a brilliant idea. Hopping off of the desk he planted himself in Derek's lap, straddling him as best he could in the chair, though the move was much less smooth than he thought it was. "Like...want you to fuck me, like you. " He muttered as he looked up at Derek, his hands unconsciously sliding over Derek's chest. How the hell could this walking spank bank deposit be putting off so much heat. Stiles wasn’t sure how to take Derek’s growl as he settled into his lap, but the vibrations of it felt amazing._

**_“You’re drunk.”_ ** _Derek’s words seemed almost like an echo down a tunnel before he heard Derek repeating himself._ **_“Stiles, you’re drunk.”_ **

_Stiles practically let out a growl himself, though temporarily distracted by the feel of Derek's hands on him, keeping them from plummeting to their death. That was a bit of an exaggeration, but a concussion was the last thing he wanted. Or needed. Yea, needed was the right word. The growl came back when Derek didn't respond how he had hoped. "Tha's besides the point." He muttered, his hands moving to grip at Derek's shoulders, feeling the muscles beneath his shirt. Fuck, he wanted to lick them. Focus, Stiles! He tilted his head a bit, a habit he seemed to have picked up from hanging around the pack for too long. "Want you." His bottom lip may or may not have pouted out just a bit at his mumbled words; alright, let’s be real, he absolutely pouted while ignoring the shake of Derek’s head. "Don't you like me, Sourwolf?"_

_He could tell that his actions were at least affecting Derek a little bit; if the way his mouth opened and closed a few times while he was staring at the exposed expanse of Stiles neck was anything to go on._ **_“No that’s not- I do.. like you. As pack. You’re a good pack member.”_ **

_Stiles felt like the world was slipping out from beneath him; and this time he wasn't sure that it actually had anything to do with the alcohol and everything to do with Derek's refusal. He knew it was a long shot, but that didn't make any kind of rebuke feel better. But, he hoped he could change his mind. Stiles knees tightened on Derek's hips. "No....that's not what I mean." He leaned in closer, marvelling at the heat once more. "Aren't you hot? You're hot." His fingers moved to the hem of Derek's shirt. "Don't you...don't you want to do nefarious and dirty things with me?" He slid his fingers beneath Derek's shirt; maybe if he could just touch Derek’s skin he’d know how serious he was about this, that it had nothing to do with the alcohol._

**_“I’m not hot.”_ ** _Derek voiced, though Stiles’ didn’t really register the harsh edge of a growl starting to lace his words as he used his own hands to still Stiles’._ **_“Stiles, you’re pack. And your dunk.”_ ** _Derek repeated._

 _Stiles licked his lips as his gaze looked up from where his hands were splaying over Derek's chest to Derek's eyes. "You are hot...." He mumbled faintly before shaking his head. Drunk? Is that really the only argument that Derek had? "Who cares if I'm drunk, Derek?" He mumbled as he tried to start roaming his hands over Derek's chest again, straining against his hold. "C'mon, Derek....." Derek’s words as he peeled Stiles’ hands off of his chest felt like a physical blow._ **_“I don’t want this, Stiles. I don’t want you. Go back to your friends.”_ **

_Stiles clenched his jaw as he listened to Derek, taking his hands from Derek as if he'd burnt them. "Right." He mumbled before pushing himself off of Derek's lap. How could he have been this stupid? "Sorry." He muttered as he ran a hand through his hair to hide the hurt Derek's words caused as he walked out of the room. He hadn't ACTUALLY expected Derek to turn him away, hell he thought if anyone could have felt the same weird electricity in the air around them it would be Derek. He was right, he was drunk. And when he got drunk, Stiles was a moron. And that pissed him off too. "Bye, Hale." He tossed over his shoulder before he closed the door behind him. Debating leaving altogether or drinking until he couldn't think anymore._

_Since Stiles was already on his way to drunk, drinking further sounded like the better of the two plans; so Stiles decided to find the nearest bottle of anything high alcohol content and drink away his feelings._

_Stiles managed to shoulder his way around the room, dodging bodies as best he could to make it over to the make-shift bar that someone had set up; probably Jackson. With the shake of his head, Stiles looked around at what was there before grabbing a bottle of the rum and walking off with it. "Might as well make it a banner night." He mumbled as he unscrewed the cap and tossed it into the nearby trash, walking out onto the balcony to get some cool air and, hopefully, cool his body down. Stupid Derek. Stupid hot Derek, with his hot broody gaze and chest of fire. He chugged some of the bottle as he leaned against the balcony wall looking into the woods; hoping that the burn from the rum would help him forget the heat that he always felt from Derek._

_That was how Scott found him; Scott the dopey and oblivious best friend that he loved like a brother. Scott, who he didn’t want to see right at that moment. He wanted to be left alone to his own little pity party for a little bit._ **_“Dude, why are you out here?”_ ** _Scott bumped his hips a bit against Stiles’ when he walked up to be lean on the railing next to him. “"Just cooling off, dun worry, party is still going." Stiles held up the bottle of rum for Scott to see before he was taking another long gulp from it. He didn’t bother adding that it was a pity party at this point; Scott seemed to be having a good time and, knowing his friend as he did, Scott would spend the rest of the night trying to cheer him up. “I’ll be back, go have fun.”_

 **_“You sure you’re good?”_ ** _Stiles just barely managed not to groan loudly when Scott tried to catch him with those big puppy dog eyes that he was known for. “Imma be fine, promise.” One of the benefits to being around a wolfpack for years at this point was that he could usually find a way around the hitch in the heartbeat when he lied; he just had to carefully word his responses. He took another swig from the bottle while Scott seemed to analyze him before finally capitulating._ **_“Alright. Oh, there’s some new kid, here. Think he said his name is Jonah or something. He hasn’t taken his eyes off of you all night…”_ **

_That caught Stiles’ attention to the point that he actually looked over his shoulder and back into the party. “Really? Point him out to me, then you can go back to trying to get into Kira’s pants?” That earned Stiles a bump to the hip before Scott was pointing him in the direction of a tall, tanned blond that turned his attention away from their direction just as Scott pointed him out._ **_“He’s over there. Have fun!”_ ** _And just like that, Scott was making his way back over towards Kira, causing Stiles to shake his head. Thank fuck his best friend was oblivious to how Stiles was really feeling._

 _As he finished the bottle of rum, Stiles decided that if Derek didn’t want Stiles, then maybe he’d have to see where things went with someone who did want him. He tossed the empty bottle into the nearest trash before he decided to walk over to the guy that Scott had pointed out to him. “Hey...Dance with me?” He asked once he was leaning his hips back against the chips table that the other man was perusing._ **_“Sure!”_ ** _The blond said as he held out a hand for Stiles to take._ **_“I didn’t think you’d ever notice me.”_ ** _At that Stiles let out a soft laugh and slid his hand into the blonde’s. "I'm a little oblivious sometimes. Or single-minded. And, recently, I've realized what I was thinking about wasn't going to work. And it helps that my buddy pointed you out." Using the grip that he had on the blonde’s hand, Stiles tugged him out towards what had been claimed as the dance floor. “I’m Stiles, by the way.”_

 _The blond grinned as he allowed Stiles to lead them into the middle of the dance crowd._ **_“I know.”_ ** _Stiles rolled his eyes at the other man but grinned himself when he felt his hands circle his waist and felt himself be pulled flush against the other man._ **_“I’m Jonah; but you can call me Jay. So, tell me, what is a guy like you doing in a house full of wolves?”_ ** _The smile that had been gracing Stiles' features dimmed a bit and he tilted his head. "House full of wolves, huh? I mean, I'd call them my friends. They're not likely to eat me alive." He figured he wouldn't be the one to bring up them being actual wolves, in case this Jonah didn't know they were werewolves and was instead just trying to be funny and flirtatious. "Besides, maybe I like to live a little dangerously?" He said as he slid his arms around Jonah's neck and let him move them, their bodies flush against each other._

 _Stiles could practically hear the raised eyebrow and almost predatory smirk that Jonah was giving him before he saw it._ **_“That’s good, then.”_ ** _When Jonah leaned forward so that his lips brushed Stiles’ ear as he spoke, a growl coming from the man in his arms._ **_“Maybe I’ll eat you alive then, since you like to live so dangerously.”_ ** _At Jonah’s words, a shiver ran down Stiles' spine while he smirked before he turned his head and, without thinking, bit at the exposed skin of Jonah's neck. "Don't make promises if you don't intend to keep them." Stiles' fingers scratched lightly at Jonah's scalp, his body reacting to the growl in a pleasant way._ **_“Oh, I have every intention of keeping them.”_ ** _When Jonah rolled their hips together with the music, Stiles had to bite his bottom lip to keep the small moan from falling from them; that plan went out the window when Jonah’s teeth found his earlobe in a sharp nip._

 _The noise that Stiles let out was soft, but it was a groan nonetheless; hiis fingers tugged at Jonah's hair just a bit while he licked his own lips. "Yea? And you think I'm that easy?" As he spoke, a faint smirk of his own found its way onto his features; the alcohol in his system pushed him to be bolder. The attention from Jonah was helping push away the hurt from Derek's rejection; he wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth at that moment._ **_“Are you?”_ ** _The head tilt from Jonah as he pulled back just enough to actually make eye contact with Stiles made him absently think that Jonah would fit in amazingly with all the wolves he knew. His next words, however, cause Stiles to tilt his own head in response._

 **_“I can play the long game, Stiles.. or I can just blow you and leave my number. Your choice.”_ ** _If the idea of someone actually sticking around long enough to actually be in a relationship with him didn’t cause Stiles’ to catch his breath, the idea of Jonah’s mouth around him definitely did. "Most people don't stick around once they figure out I don't sit still. Even my friends get annoyed." Stiles’ couldn’t stop the nervous habit he had of licking his lips as he shrugged one of his shoulders. "You sure you're up for a long game?"_

 **_“I’m up for it. You’ll come to see that I’m nothing like most people.”_ ** _Stiles let out a soft chuckled and nodded. "Yea, I can tell." He shrugged a shoulder and glanced to the side as they moved just enough that he could glance in the direction of Derek's office; if he didn't want anything to do with Stiles, maybe a distraction would prove beneficial. "Sounds good. Hope you know what you're getting yourself into." The smile that Jonah sent his way caused Stiles to feel like maybe he was good enough, at least, for someone._ **_“Why don’t we go somewhere a little quieter and you can tell me what I’m in for?”_ **

~~

Letting out a faint groan again, Stiles tipped his head back and let the water wash over his face to help wake him up; his hands reaching for the shampoo as he worked to get his thoughts under control again. The last thing he needed to be thinking about was how the man in his bed got there; how they had snuck off to one of the back rooms of the loft, how things started getting hot and heavy once the door was closed. How Derek had come storming into the room all growls and flashing eyes, Jonah meeting him with flashes of his own eyes, and caught them with their hands down each other’s pants and threw them and everyone else out; not until after he had called Stiles a slut, never mind that he was a virgin. How they had come back to his house, since his dad was out, and how Jonah had helped Stiles work out the anger that had bubbled up within him between Derek walking in on them and arriving back at the house. 

Just as he was about to turn the water off, he heard the door open and felt Jonah’s hands on Stiles’ hips; his fingers biting into the bruises that were already there from the night before, before he was being pushed forward into the tiles of the shower with Jonah’s body pinning his in place. _“You should have waited for me. Good boys wait.”_ Stiles let out a shaky breath, pressing his body back as much as possible into Jonah’s heavy heat behind him. “Is that so? Maybe I need a reminder?” The answering growl and tightened grip at his hips let him know that his words were getting to Jonah. _“That so?”_ Stiles groaned when Jonah’s teeth nipped sharply at his ear. _“Remember, you don’t get to come unless I say so. Let’s see how long you last.”_ The shiver that ran down Stiles spine was delicious. “Fuck…”

\----------------------------------------

Stiles’ bad day just kept going from bad to worse the longer the day went on; he’d somehow forgotten to turn on his alarm, so he woke up late and had already missed Jonah slipping out of his house. Then he’d had no less than three teachers go up one side of him and down the other for missing classes, which was arguably his own fault but it still didn’t help his mood. Then, during practice, he’d gotten his ass handed to him by practically everyone else on the opposite side enough times that Finstock finally pulled him and told him to sit on the benches. And finally, he’d gotten his own hopes up that he’d see Jonah in the stands during practice and when he looked and didn’t see him there, Stiles felt like a kicked puppy. 

When practice was called, Stiles let out a faint sigh and waited until he knew the majority of the team was cleared out of the locker room before he rose off of the bench; scooping up his gear and heading towards the lockers himself, leaving Isaac to finish the last of the clean up after practice. Stiles hoped that by the time he finished cleaning down his equipment and stowing it in the locker the few stragglers that were left in the showers would be gone; he had to meet up with Jonah at the diner in a few hours and he knew how much Jonah hated when he smelled of sweat or anyone else. He was in the middle of removing and wiping down his pads when Isaac joined him, taking his own equipment off. 

_“What’s up?”_ Isaac asked as he joined him by the lockers. _“I haven’t seen you outside of school, lately. It feels like forever.”_ Stiles shrugged a shoulder of his own and managed to muster up a small smile for Isaac. “You ever just have one of those days where everything is going to shit?” Stiles tossed his things into his locker and started pulling his shirt over his head. “Just that kind of day, I guess. I must be hungry or something.” Stiles offered up a laugh, though forced, to try and lighten the mood. 

_“I know those types of days, they suck.”_ Isaac made some kind of humming noise as he finished taking off and cleaning his own pads, shoving them in the locker before he was eyeing the bruises on Stiles’ wrists. _“You get those in practice?”_ Tossing his shirt into his locker as well, Stiles looked down at one of his wrists. "Maybe?" He was pretty sure it had come from Jonah grabbing him earlier that morning, but it could have come from practice.....right? He pulled off his pants and kicked them towards his locker after he had his towel wrapped around his waist; making his way to the shower in the hopes of avoiding the topic of bruises. 

No such luck, however, as Isaac was quick to follow him to the showers, now stripped down to his towel himself; Stiles caught the frown that Isaac was sending his way as he hopped into the stall next to him. _“You sure? I’ve noticed you’ve gotten a lot of bruises lately…Are you sure you’re okay? Your boyfriend, he’s not…he’s not hurting you, is he?”_ That was a question that Stiles hadn’t anticipated, so he had barely managed to keep his face light. “He forgets that I'm human, sometimes. It's fine." Though, in the back of his mind, Stiles wondered just how fine he actually was. With Derek being a dick, Stiles had stopped going to pack meetings, so he hadn't really seen anyone outside of classes; classes he was skipping with more and more regularity at Jonah’s insistence. He had started to reason with himself that that was normal when it came to relationships; especially when it came to wolves. Right? 

_“I know you said he’s a wolf but you haven’t really shared much about him. Wait, what do you mean he ‘forgets’?”_ Stiles could see the way Isaac’s frown deepened and he knew that he had said the wrong thing. _“Stiles, is he hurting you? Like…a lot?”_ Isaac’s questions had Stiles chewing on the inside of his cheek. What constituted a lot? Sure, there had been a few accidents; Jonah bumping into him like he would one of the other wolves, leaving rings of bruises on his hips from gripping him too hard when they fucked....there was that one time Jonah had accidentally punched him while they were both passed out. "They're just accidents, Isaac, I'm good." The very last thing Stiles wanted to do was worry Isaac, of all people; especially about something that might not even actually be a thing. _“Accidents? If you’re sure…”_

Reaching behind him, Stiles turned the water on hot and waited for it to heat up before he was stepping beneath the spray. “He apologizes. It’s just a few bruises. Hell, I used to get bruised all the time when I roughhoused with the pack. I bruise like a peach, remember?” Stiles tried to deflect a bit with his usual defense mechanism of sarcasm and humor; hoping that Isaac would feel reassured. At the very least, the scratches Jonah had given him when they were fucking last week, that had run down the length of his thighs, had finally healed; so he wouldn’t have to find a way to explain those away to Isaac. _“Alright…”_ He could tell by the tone that Isaac used as he stepped into the water of his own shower. 

Deciding to try and get them onto safer ground, Stiles decided to start a whole new topic. “So…how’s the pack doing?” That seemed to distract Isaac sufficiently enough. _“They’re alright, for the most part. Derek is…well, he’s Derek. Everyone’s been missing you though, man.”_ Stiles couldn’t help but let out a faint snort. "Derek made it pretty clear that he didn't want me anywhere around him." He tipped his head back into the water as he rinsed the shampoo out of his hair. "And everyone else seems too busy with whatever it is you guys are hunting. Us humans aren't the best at keeping up during hunts." With his eyes closed, Stiles missed seeing Isaac frowning but he could practically hear it in his voice. _“You’ve always hunted with us.”_ Isaac’s sigh could even be heard over the roar of the water in his ears. _“I mean, I guess you’ve been pretty busy with that new boyfriend of yours and all. When are you going to let everyone in the pack meet him properly?”_

Stiles hummed as he started rinsing off the last of the soap. "I'm supposed to meet him at the diner in an hour. If you guys want to join. I don't think it would be a problem." He hoped it wouldn't be a problem, at least; as happy as Jonah made him, he was starting to really miss his friends. _“Oh cool! I’ll text everyone and tell them to meet us there, sound good?”_ Stiles chuckled at Isaac’s sudden burst of enthusiasm and he couldn’t help but nod that it was okay. "Sounds good!" Stiles honestly was getting excited himself; perhaps his day wouldn't end so bad at all. He'd get to see Jonah and his friends; finally get to introduce his friends to Jonah for the first time. Scott knew about him, vaguely, but no one had really met him yet so far as Stiles knew. He finished washing, rubbing at the bruises on his wrist to try and get them to break up a bit, go away faster, and then shut the water off. "Hey Iz? Don't....don't tell Derek, okay? If he's going to be an asshole, I don't want him there." Stiles didn’t mention that the last time Jonah and Derek were in the same room Derek had gone all alpha asshole on them.

 _“Sure thing! I’ll see you there!”_ Isaac’s mood seemed to be getting better, so Stiles took that as a win as he turned off the shower and dried off. “I’ll see you there, Iz!” As he walked over to his locker to get dressed, Stiles ran a hand over the back of his neck. He really hoped Jonah would be okay with everything; he missed his friends. 

\--------------------------------------

When Stiles and Isaac pulled into the diner at the same time it made something clench in his stomach; so much for giving Jonah a heads up in person about the added company. But that feeling dissipated when Isaac gave him a big hug; and boy had he missed that. Sometimes Stiles felt touch starved, but it wasn’t like Jonah didn’t touch him, he just wasn’t the most…cuddly type of person; which was uncommon for a werewolf but not unheard of. When they walked through the door, laughing at some ridiculous joke Isaac had shared, Stiles saw Jonah sitting at their usual booth and his smile grew exponentially; he grabbed Isaac’s hand and practically dragged him to the booth before he was sliding in next to Jonah. “You remember Isaac? Hey, I didn’t see you in the bleachers during practice today. Everything okay?” 

Stiles could see the faint tick in Jonah’s jaw before it was hidden behind his usual grin; he knew that something had irritated Jonah and he knew that chances were high that it was because Stiles had unexpectedly brought company to their dinner. **_“Yeah, sorry, baby. I had to work today. Last minute thing, you know how it is.”_ ** At least Jonah’s tone was light, that meant that Stiles hadn’t pissed him off too badly. **_“From the party, yea. How’re you doing, man?”_ **

As Stiles shifted his position, draping one of his legs over Jonah’s for some touch and reassurance, both giving and receiving, he managed a smile and watched Isaac; something about the way Isaac was looking at them made Stiles feel like cataloging everything. “Work, right.” Stiles watched as Isaac tilted his head before he was nodding and giving them another bright smile. _“Yea, the party. I’m great, how about you?”_ When Jonah settled his hand on Stiles’ thigh, he had to fight to hold back the wince at the strength behind the grip; a grip that was bruising to begin with but only tightened as the others started filtering in to join them. **_“I’m good. How many are we expecting?”_ **

Stiles let his own hand settle on top of Jonah’s to try and get him to loosen his grip without having to say anything; he probably didn’t even realize how tightly he was gripping Stiles, that happened quite a bit. "I invited everyone, figured I hadn't had the chance to see them in a while. And they wanted to meet you too." He brushed his thumb over the top of Jonah's wrist where his hand was atop of Jonah’s; the movement so common now that Stiles didn’t even realize he was doing it anymore. Stiles let out a slightly shaky breath when Jonah’s grip loosened on his thigh. **_“Maybe a little heads up next time.”_ **Stiles could tell by the twitch in Jonah’s jaw that he wasn’t pleased by the interruption; and the sharp nip on his ear after his words caused a shiver to run down Stiles spine. In a move that had become instinct, Stiles ducked his head some; basically turning his head so that Jonah could have easy access to his neck as well as showing him that he was submitting to him. Out of the corner of his vision, Stiles noted that Isaac was once more taking note of their actions but this time he was distracted by Scott; which Stiles said a silent prayer for. 

The growl of approval that came from Jonah at the simple baring of his neck did wonders to put Stiles’ own anxiety of how angry he was going to be at ease; though he was sure they would be revisiting this at a later date. He didn’t even see Lydia raising a brow at them before she was ordering a round of fries for the table; not that he was paying much attention to her. Well, that was until she opened her mouth one more time. _“Oh hey! Who invited Derek?”_ Her laughter nearly drowned out Isaac as he ducked his head and spoke. _“I thought he might wanna get out..”_ At that Stiles’ eyes snapped open, having closed as he savored the growl from Jonah, and he shivered a bit as his own grip on Jonah’s hand tightened and his eyes snapped from Isaac to Derek, back to Isaac and then to Jonah. “I didn’t…” Hoping to keep Jonah from getting even angrier at him. 

When Jonah visibly clenched his jaw again and his grip on Stiles’ thigh tightened painfully once more, Stiles had to fight to hold back the whimper; instead he leaned over to press a kiss to Jonah’s neck, right over the pulse point, and whispered softly again in the hopes of soothing his anger. “It’s okay, I promise.” When Isaac shot up as Derek came closer, Stiles shot the alpha a glare of his own; hoping to get the message to play nice through just one look. _“Hey man!”_ Isaac held fries out to Derek and motioned for him to sit down. 

Derek’s brow furrowed as he walked into the diner, his wolf nearly clawing its way out of him at the sight of Stiles baring his neck for some beta; thankfully Isaac jumping up in front of him was enough of a distraction that his wolf settled back down by the time Derek had slid into the booth with Isaac and the rest of them. Just in time for that useless Beta to crowd even further into Stiles, practically pushing him out of the booth. **_“We have a thing, so we’re just on our way out.”_ ** Anyone else would have missed the confusion and hurt that passed over Stiles’ features but not Derek; he knew enough to watch Stiles’ eyes to catch his real feelings. 

“Wha-Oh, right.” When Stiles turned to look back at everyone he offered his best apologetic smile and shrugged a shoulder. “I’m sorry guys, I um- I forgot.” Stiles swallowed as he got out of the booth, before Jonah could shove him onto the floor, and before he was even on his feet fully Jonah was practically dragging him out of the diner. 

Derek could see that he wasn’t the only one watching them leave in concern; Isaac’s frown was one of the deepest he’d seen on the young man in a long time. So, when the others started spreading out into the booth a bit more and Isaac stayed close to him, Derek wasn’t surprised when Isaac asked to speak to him. _“Do um...do you have a minute?”_ Even with his own skin crawling as Stiles and Jonah finally got out of sight, Derek managed to push down his anger enough so that he could give Isaac his attention and not his anger. “Yea, what’s up?” 

When Isaac glanced towards the rest of the group before getting up and nodding for Derek to follow him towards the back of the diner, Derek knew it was more serious than he had thought. _“I have a question...well, I need advice. What would you do if you had a friend who...had bruises? Not like normal bruises, at least you don’t think they’re normal bruises?”_ The way Isaac’s voice trailed off, staying so quiet, reminded Derek of the early days when he had changed Isaac; and that made Derek’s own heart ache. “Bruises? This friend, it isn’t you?” He needed Isaac to tell him if it was, if someone was hurting his pack. 

He let out a breath, however, when Isaac shook his head quickly; even as he pulled one of his legs up to hug onto the seat they had taken over. _“No it’s...it’s not me, I swear.”_ He could see the way Isaac swallowed, looking down at his fingers, just not quite willing to look Derek in the eyes, and it continued to make Derek more and more concerned. _“Yea, like bruises on their wrists. Like someone grabbed them too hard. And...other places.”_ Derek’s confusion kept growing as he tipped his head. “Do you think this person is being hurt? Is there any way you can help them?” As he spoke, he kept his voice low so that he wouldn’t cause Isaac’s anxiety to get any worse than it already was. 

_“I think they are. But they….they say it’s accidents.”_ Isaac continued to play with the hem of his jeans as he spoke softly. _“They said that their significant other forgets that they’re only human.”_ Isaac’s words caused Derek’s heart to leap up into his throat at the same time his eyebrows shot up. 

_It couldn’t be Stiles, could it? Even if it was, what the hell can I do to help him? He despises me, and rightly so. The shit I said to him...all because I was jealous and angry…he has every right to hate me._

Licking his lips, Derek kept a tight control over himself. “Do you think you could convince them to leave?” He could tell by the way that Isaac’s leg started bouncing a bit that his anxiety was starting to rise slowly. _“I-I could try? They’ve been spending a lot of time with their partner, so it’s hard to get them alone.”_ When he looked up at Derek, there was a look of determination in his eyes. _“I’ll try. Is that what you’d do?”_ Derek took a breath before he answered, trying to give off calm so that Isaac would emulate it without realizing. “If I couldn’t convince them, I’d try to remove them from the situation, but Isaac?” He paused as he tried to figure out how to make sure Isaac knew not to get himself in trouble. “Don’t get yourself into anything dangerous, okay? You need any help, you call me. I don’t care what the situation is, I’ll be there in an instant.” 

When Isaac nodded, Derek felt like he could relax a bit; if Isaac agreed to call him if he needed him, he would. _“I will, I promise.”_ After a few moments of quiet, Isaac let out a huff of a breath. _“Come on, we might as well eat while we’re here. The whole pack is probably devouring the table at this point.”_

\---------------------------------------

Stiles' left leg bounced anxiously while he drove; he was trying his best to see Jonah out of the corner of his eyes, to assess what was going through the other's mind. By the way Jonah was sitting there, rigid and grinding his teeth, Stiles had a feeling he was just waiting for the right time before he went off on him. Stiles hoped he could soothe that anger before they made it back to the motel. "I didn't invite him. I asked them not to invite him." He said as he tapped the steering wheel while he drove, his nervous energy needing somewhere to go. **_“You think that makes it better? We both know you want him, Stiles. And here I thought you loved me.”_ **

Stiles couldn’t help but clench his own jaw at the accusations, they were a constant argument between them and he couldn’t figure out how to stop them altogether. And he was running out of time to cool the situation down, as he was pulling into the motel parking lot. “I do love you.” He said as he pulled into a spot and turned the jeep off, turning in his seat to look at Jonah. “Please, don’t be upset. I swear he doesn’t mean to me what you do.” He tried to reassure Jonah, but seeing how angry he was Stiles knew he wasn’t going to be able to cool the situation down. 

**_“Funny how he just….gravitates towards you; huh?”_ ** Stiles couldn’t help but flinch when Jonah got out of the jeep and slammed the door; his heart hammering in his chest. **_“In the room. Now.”_ ** Stiles swallowed and licked his lips as he got out of the jeel himself, shutting his own door with a lighter touch. “That’s not my fault, I swear! I haven’t even spoken to him in...months.” Stiles frowned as he moved into the motel room, careful not to touch Jonah as he walked past the man as he was holding the door from him’ and his frown increased as he watched Jonah once the door to the room was closed. **_“You sure? I mean, you like to hide your phone in the drawer a lot. Am I the rebound?_ **

When Jonah was like this, Stiles knew it was better to take the slow approach, holding his hands up as he frowned and stepped forward; pressing his hand to Jonah’s chest in a slow touch. “I swear, I haven’t spoken to him in months. You know you may have started out that way, but I told you it’s not that, not anymore.” He pleaded, trying so hard to get Jonah to see. **_“You didn’t even tell me that you were inviting half the town to our alone time!”_ **Jonah’s growl wasn’t surprising, he always growled when he was angry, but what did surprise him was when Jonah wrapped his fingers in a painful grip before shoving Stiles back away from him; causing Stiles to grunt when he slammed hard into the dresser, wincing when he thought he felt a snap. 

“I didn’t think it would be a big deal, they’re just my friends, they wanted to meet you.” Stiles spoke quietly as he chanced a glance up at Jonah’s features; seeing his eyes blaze a solid blue as his growl got deeper. **_“And you didn’t think they just wanted to take you away from me? You know they hate me, Stiles. They hate everyone outside of the pack! You could have ruined everything!”_ **

Swallowing past the rapid heartbeat he felt in his throat, taking a cautious step towards Jonah with his hands out as if to soothe a wounded animal. “No, that’s not...they wouldn’t. They don’t hate you, they just don’t know you. They’re not like that-” **_“Yea? So where have they been? They just forget you exist for a while? I can’t believe you sometimes.”_ **His words were cut off when Jonah gripped Stiles wrist and pulled him in closer, moving his hands until his fingers dug up and actually under Stiles’ ribs. Causing Stiles to gasp a bit as he tried to twist his body so that he could get Jonah to loosen his grip on him; it fucking hurt. But still Stiles shook his head. “No, I’m just- I’ve been neglecting them. Please, I’m sorry.” He carefully reached up to rub a shaking hand on Jonah’s chest, trying to get him to loosen his grip. “Please…” 

**_“You sure about that? Because you seemed pretty damn chummy with them all, for someone neglecting their friends.”_ ** Stiles' face contorted in pain and he couldn’t contain the cry of pain when Jonah’s fingers tightened, he could feel the bones of his ribs crack beneath Jonah’s grip. The sound so loud to him that he almost missed Jonah’s sigh of contempt. **_“You know I hate doing these things to you.”_ **Stiles’ hand gripped Jonah’s shirt tightly and he wasn’t sure how his legs were even holding him up anymore as starbursts started to form before his eyes. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry! I know, I’m sorry!” He managed to get out after he dragged a breath in, his voice cracking from the pain. Stiles almost let out a breath of relief when Jonah loosened his grip, only to have his grip return, but this time with his claws piercing the soft skin by his ribs. No sooner had a loud cry come from Stiles than the door to the room burst open. 

Through Stiles’ blurry vision, and through the starbursts of pain, Stiles could see Isaac’s form in the doorway, growling; which was very odd for the lanky beta. _“Stiles! Stiles, I’m here...will you come with me? Please, Stiles come with me.”_ He could hear Isaac practically begging, and for a moment Stiles wondered how the hell Isaac had found them. Glancing back at Jonah, Stiles saw the rage explode across his face and Stiles knew that if he didn’t get Isaac out of there, he’d end up hurt and that wasn’t acceptable to Stiles. So he managed to get himself out of Jonah’s grip, he could feel his skin ripping some as he did, but he did it and he slowly backed towards Isaac; though he kept his eyes trained on Jonah. “It’s okay...I’ll be….be back, okay? Please?” Stiles tried pleading with him before he managed to get himself and Isaac out of the room. “Isaac, get in the car, now.” He managed to grind out through his teeth as he watched Jonah seethe while he stalked after them; stopping in the doorway and his face shifted into a neutral look that meant he was furious. 

When Isaac opened the door for Stiles, practically bundling him into the seat, Stiles swallowed and kept his arm banded around his chest. Even just breathing hurt; it caused his skin to stretch when he inhaled, pulling at the tears in his skin from Jonah’s claws. Isaac didn’t even give them time to put their seatbelts on before he was speeding out of the lot. _“I’m taking you to the sheriff’s, you’re gonna...gonna report this fucker.”_ Isaac’s words, however, caused Stiles to turn panicked eyes onto him. “No, I’m...I’m fine! Please, please! Don’t...I don’t want him to see me like this, please?!” If Stiles could have, he would have gotten down on his knees in the foot well to beg Isaac, though turning all the way to look at him did cause his ribs to scream. The only thing keeping him from screaming out in pain was that he needed to convince Isaac not to take him to see his dad. 

For half a second, Stiles panicked thinking that he wouldn’t convince Isaac, but when Isaac nodded he could have burst into tears of relief; that is if he hadn’t had to hiss in pain when Isaac took a sharp turn that caused his body to move. Which even the thought of moving was now synonymous with pain in Stiles’ mind. _“Right. Okay, are you okay? Do you need the hospital?”_ Stiles grit his teeth, his hand pressed against the bleeding marks on his side as if he could hide them from the wolf next to him. “No hospital! M’fine.” Maybe if he told himself that enough he’d convince himself it was true. For a few brief seconds, Stiles had hoped that that would be the end of any topic but he should have known he wasn’t that lucky. _“How long has he been hurting you?”_ Isaac’s deep frown was visible in the quickly disappearing daylight as they drove. “Please, Isaac….not right now, please?” Stiles begged softly; breathing was hard enough, talking was just making it worse. 

Besides, Isaac didn’t need to know that he wasn’t sure when it stopped being accidents and started being on purpose. It all just proved that Stiles was fucked up beyond help and he didn’t need the pitying look that he was sure he would get anyway. _“Alright, alright. But you gotta...just stay at Derek’s okay? At least until you’re okay.”_ When Isaac pulled into the driveway to Derek’s loft Stiles could see the man in question was already waiting outside for them. “He’s not going to want me to stay at his place long, if at all.” Stiles muttered, groaning unintentionally when a bump before Isaac pulled to a stop jostled him. “He hates me.” _  
_ _  
_ _“He doesn’t hate you.”_ “He does.” Stiles said under his breath even as Isaac tried to reassure him before he was getting out of the car and moving towards Stiles’ door to help him out while Derek approached. “Isaac? What happened.” When Isaac opened his door, Stiles took the offered hand but hat to bite his tongue so hard that he caused it to bleed when his ribs shifted in Isaac’s hold. _“M’sorry!”_ Stiles appreciated the effort that Isaac made to try and shift his grip on him, but he wouldn’t tell him that it didn’t help much. _“Derek, you remember our talk, earlier….?”_ Derek followed Isaac’s glance towards Stiles’ exposed wrist, seeing the numerous bruises before Isaac was looking back at him. _“He’s hurt, Derek. He needs someplace safe.”_

“Alright.” Derek said as he forced himself to remain calm and not go and kick the shit out of the asshole that decided to lay his hands on Stiles. “I’ll take it from here, Iz. Can you go get some of his things? He’ll need clothes. And pick up a first aid kit on your way back.” Derek waited until Isaac nodded to show he understood before he was slipping his arm behind Stiles’ back and lifting him up into his arms as if he weighed nothing; and Derek was pretty sure Stiles was underweight at this point. “Where are you hurt, Stiles?” He asked as he heard Isaac already pulling out of the drive and Stiles’ cry of pain when he lifted him. 

Stiles shook his head, his teeth digging into the inside of his cheek as he struggled to breathe; his hand slipping from where it was pressed, letting a trick of blood fall down his side slowly. “M’fine.” When Derek let out a huff of breath and moved his hand, so that he could leech away Stiles’ pain, his eyes instantly drooped as he managed to draw in a breath without feeling the need to cry instantly at the pain. “Don’t lie to me, Stiles. I need to know so I can help you.” When Stiles had taken a couple of breaths, he took his arm away from Derek, bracing himself mentally as the pain came roaring back. “It’s jus’ my ribs. You don’t have to pretend to care.”  
  
Stiles’ words gutted him as he carefully laid Stiles down on the couch. “I’m not pretending, Stiles.” Derek let out a sigh as he stood next to the couch. “If you won’t let me help you, at least let me give you some painkillers?” 

Wincing as he tried to force himself into a better position, Stiles frowned; unsure whether to believe Derek about caring or not. “Fine.” He said with a faint nod as he figured the painkillers wouldn’t be such a bad idea. He could take those, pass out for a while, and then figure out what he’d say to Jonah when he woke up later. With Stiles’ nod, Derek moved towards the kitchen and reached into the top shelf of the cupboard; grabbing the bottle of vicodin Melissa had given him for emergencies and taking two out before he was bringing them and a glass of water back to Stiles. “You’re going to have to talk to me eventually. About whatever the hell happened.”  
  
Stiles let out a breath, sweat already beading on his forehead at the effort it had taken for him to get himself propped up in a more comfortable position; his hand out for the meds. “Why?” He asked before he was popping both pills into his mouth; wincing when he reached for the water. 

“I just...I don’t understand, Stiles.” Derek said as he settled onto the table next to the couch so that he wasn’t looming over Stiles as they spoke. “I can’t figure out how you got into this situation.” That was a lie, and Derek knew it. He blamed himself for Stiles being in this situation; if he hadn’t said what he said, did what he did, then Stiles wouldn’t have fallen into the hands of this asshole. 

Stiles shook his head a bit, just barely managing to take a sip of the water without spilling it all over the place before he was setting the glass down. “Why do you care, Derek? You don’t want me, remember? You don’t like me.” Stiles said a silent thank you to any god listening that he was able to set the glass down without breaking it; he wasn’t sure he was up to picking anything up right at that moment. “Stiles, I never said..” Derek let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand over his face. “Is that what this is? You went to him because I wouldn’t...I know I handled everything badly, I know I pushed you to him but it wasn’t like that...I do-” Isaac noisily clambering into the loft cut off Derek’s words, giving Stiles a chance to shake his head just a bit. “M’fine, okay? I’ll be fine. I just need to sleep and then I’ll be out of your hair. I’ve got to apologize to Jonah; I fucked up.” He muttered as he wrapped his arms around his ribs when stabbing pain came from them when he tried to move. 

“That’s not happening.” Derek grumbled as he grabbed the first aid kit from Isaac. “I need to see how deep the wounds on your side are, I’m guessing claws?” He shifted his position so that he could better get to Stiles. “Will you let me roll up your shirt?” 

Stiles turned his head to glare at Derek for his words. “You don’t understand, Derek.” He wanted to argue, to protest and not let Derek near him if he was just going to put him down for his relationship. But the pain was enough that Stiles eventually nodded, peeling his shirt up some to help. “Then explain it to me.” Derek said as he finished rolling the shirt away from the scratches, glad to see that they had only just pierced the skin; though the skin looked a little torn at the ends from movement. Using the gauze, Derek cleaned the marks and taped a dressing over them. 

Stiles cried out when even Derek’s lightest touch to his ribs caused them to sear in pain. “Can’t!” He managed to get out through a soft sob. “Can’t or don’t want to?” Derek asked as he reached forward again to start leeching away the pain once more. “Stiles, I can’t let you go back to him. You know that, right?” 

A tear rolled down Stiles’ cheek and he turned his head so that Isaac and Derek wouldn’t be able to see it. “I fucked up, it was my fault. Just...he loves me…” Stiles’ words caused Derek to frown harder. “This isn’t love, Stiles. This isn’t….people who love you don’t do this. I know it’s difficult to understand right now, and he’s probably filled your head with all kinds of shit, but he’s just...he’s just another Kate.” Derek’s heart broke just a little bit more when he watched Stiles squeeze his eyes together tightly and tried to turn away from them; he could feel the pain and tension rolling off of Stiles.

“He loves me…” The ‘ _when no one else will.’_ of Stiles words were left hanging heavily in the air around them. “He doesn’t love you” Derek repeated, nodding quickly to Isaac to get him to take the bag of Stiles things up to the guest room. “He doesn’t. You don’t even really know who he is. Have you ever met any of his friends? Anyone from his life? His pack?” When Stiles responded, he kept his eyes squeezed shut as if he could shut out the world and shook his head. “His pack is busy.” Even to Stiles’ own ears the excuse sounded weak, but he had said it so much to himself that he believed it. Didn’t he? 

“Do you know of any alpha that wouldn’t want to inspect a significant other? Come one Stiles, you’re smarter than this.” Derek frowned as he looked down at Stiles. “Do you love him?” He asked. “Don’t, Derek…” Stiles let out a faint sob even as the medication started to kick in and he started to fall asleep in the middle of the conversation. Isaac waited until Stiles’ breathing evened out, until Stiles was fully out before he spoke. _“Derek...he can’t go back there. If I hadn’t shown up...he could have killed him. Would have killed him.”_

With one last look at Stiles, he looked so small on the couch, Derek stood up and ran a hand through his own hair, tugging at the strands and clenching his jaw for a second. “I know...I know. We’re not going to let him go back. We won’t let that happen.” Isaac moved to try and help get Stiles into a more comfortable position on the couch. _“What have you heard about their pack?”_ He asked softly, frowning down at Stiles before he looked up at Derek. “Not much. Just what I could find out through the grapevine. They aren’t exactly the type of pack you’d go to for help.” Derek sighed as he paced a bit, staying close to the couch the whole time; both his and Isaac’s attention focused on Stiles for a moment when he cried out in his sleep. Derek instantly moved to press his fingers lightly to Stiles’ skin, taking enough of the pain so that he could sleep at the very least. 

_“I was scared, Derek….I wanted to hurt that guy.”_ Derek could hear the truth of Isaac’s words and he sat on the table to keep taking some of Stiles’ pain for a few moments longer. “You’re not the only one.” He admitted softly. “I just-this is my fault.” Derek explained softly, removing his hand once Stiles was back to sleeping soundly. _“No. Stiles is old enough that he made a choice.”_ Isaac sat next to Derek again and carefully bumped their shoulders together. _“As long as we help him. That’s what matters.”_ Derek reached up and ruffled Isaac’s curls. “You’re a good friend, Isaac. Why don’t we order some food, see if we can’t get him to eat some when he wakes up. Stiles still likes curly fries, right?” Isaac let out a soft sigh of his own. _“Yea, he usually scarfs curly fries.”_ The lanky beta hesitated as he looked down at Stiles once more. _“If I was a good friend, this wouldn’t have gotten this far.”_

Derek shook his head and turned to get Isaac’s full attention. “Isaac...you know how this goes. You’ve been there. At first it’s...no. Things like this, often no one knows what is going on until it’s too late. But today, today you saved his life.” He waited for Isaac to relax a bit more before he squeezed his shoulder a bit. “Why don’t you use my laptop and get an order going. Get enough for the three of us.” He gave Isaac a smile before he caught sight of Stiles turning a bit, feeling his head trying to press into Derek’s hand. Moving just a bit, but keeping his hand pressed to Stiles’ skin, he sat on the floor next to the couch and went through the events of the party in his head once more. Everything that happened, Derek felt sick thinking about it all, about what he had said to Stiles. He had thought he was protecting Stiles from himself, Stiles deserved to be able to grow up without the fact that he was Derek’s mate looming over him; he deserved to live and make his choices. Instead, Derek had just pushed him into someone far worse. 

Stiles cracked his eyes open a bit only to close them once more,the world was tipping and spinning and that wasn’t ideal for him. He had seen Derek however, so close he could almost touch him. So he struggled to try and roll towards him; his medication and sleep fogged mind seeking out the comfort as he slipped in and out of sleep. “Derek…” His voice was soft, almost mumbled as he tried to get closer to Derek. 

Derek’s heart broke just a bit more as he watched the younger man turn, gasping as he did so, and try to reach and wrap around Derek with eyes that were unfocused and scared; even the scent of his fear rolled off of him. “M’sorry...m’sorry.” Stiles kept muttering, even as Derek carefully wrapped his arms around Stiles to hold him as carefully as he could, so as not to jostle his ribs but enough to give him the comfort he was seeking. “Shh, it’s okay. You’re okay. I’ve got you.” He whispered softly to Stiles even as the younger man was struggling to focus and gripping at Derek wherever he could reach him. “Said he loved me…thought….it hurts.” Stiles sobbed softly even as Derek moved a hand up into Stiles hair, doing his best to soothe him. “Hush, it’s okay. You’re safe now. I won’t let anything happen to you.” 

Derek shifted his position a bit so that Stiles was more comfortable when he pressed his head into Derek’s shoulder. “Missed you.” Stiles mumbled softly. Derek continued to run his fingers through Stiles’ hair in the hopes that he could help him feel more comfortable. He wasn’t sure but Derek thought that Stiles was probably delirious from pain and so Derek continued making soothing noises; glancing at the time before he was going back to just watching Stiles features. 

After some time, Derek heard Isaac come back into the room; this time carrying a few bags of fast food over to the table. _“He didn’t eat lunch, hopefully we can get him to eat.”_ He said as he sat on the couch by the pair of them. Derek sighed softly and nodded as he removed his hand from Stiles' hair. “I’m sure we can convince him to eat a fry or two.” He frowned when Stiles whimpered at the loss of touch and turned to try and press closer. “Stiles? There’s some food here.” Isaac frowned as he curled up closer to Stiles for comfort. “Hey, Stiles? Food...we got you curly fries.” Derek said as he held Stiles close and tried to rouse him; though Stiles seemed to give a faint growling sound he still opened his eyes slowly. 

“Not hungry.” Stiles protested as he tried to get them to let him go back to sleep; he just wanted to sleep the pain away. “Just a few fries, please? You need something in your stomach with those pills.” Derek said as he nodded towards Isaac to encourage him to take some of Stiles’ pain. “You know I’m not taking no for an answer, Stiles.” Derek reminded him, even as Stiles glared at him and tried to lay back down; tried to curl up against Derek again. “M’gonna puke.” He mumbled softly even as Isaac pressed his hand to Stiles waist to help leech some of his pain. Stiles’ words, however, caused Derek to frown and to grab the empty fruit bowl from the table just in case. 

“I’m going to call Deaton, see if he can help.” Derek had hoped his words would help bring some kind of sense of calm to Stiles but they seemed to do the opposite, causing the younger man to shake his head quickly. “No doctors. No hospital.” Stiles had to clear his throat a few times before he spoke. “No one can know.” Stiles was adamant as he ran a hand over his face. “Deaton can come here and we can say it was from a pack dispute or something. Hell, I’ll even tell him I did it if it would make you feel better. But I don’t want you to feel like this if you don’t have to.” Once again, Derek’s words seemed to cause Stiles some kind of panic as he whispered and shook his head again. “No, wasn’t you. It was my fault.” Stiles pushed against them, pushing himself up to sit as carefully as possible; though it still caused him to gasp at the pain. 

Derek moved on instinct, carefully settling his hand on Stiles’ wrist again to help ease the pain as they managed to get him into a sitting position. “Stiles, let us call him. Please.” He urged him. “At the very least, he can make sure that nothing serious is going on...then we can talk if you want? Figure out what happened.” Derek saw his words sinking in slowly as Stiles swallowed and hesitated; the way his tongue swiped over his bottom lip the way it always did when he was anxious and the way his gaze drifted from Derek to Isaac and back all spoke to the amount of fear that Stiles had been hiding somehow. “I don’t want my dad to know...dad’ll kill him…” Stiles’ words at least allowed Derek to nod to Isaac, giving him the go-ahead to call Deaton as Derek continued to soothe Stiles to the best of his ability. “He won’t. Deaton doesn’t need to know the details. We can tell him there was an accident with the pack, he’d understand.” Derek didn’t feel it was the right time to mention that Stiles wouldn’t have to worry about the sheriff killing Jonah as he planned on doing it himself. 

When Isaac squeezed his thigh and got up with his phone already to his ear, Stiles had to blink hard a few times to stave off the tears. “Just tell him I crashed into a dresser. It’s partially true.” Stiles mumbled as he resigned himself to the fact that Deaton was coming whether he wanted him to or not. Isaac gave him a small smile as he hung up after a short conversation and then rejoined him on the couch after tapping out what Stiles assumed was a text. “Do you wanna tell me what happened?” Derek asked as he reached for a water and offered it to Stiles, making sure he had it as he took a careful sip. 

“I fucked up.” Stiles simply said, his voice still quiet as he looked down at the water bottle in his hand. “This wasn’t your fault, Stiles. Not by a long shot. You can’t blame yourself because he couldn’t keep his hands to himself, okay?” Derek’s words just caused Stiles to shake his head. “I didn’t tell Jonah that everyone was coming. I didn’t ask him if he was alright with the idea. He’s gonna be so pissed…” Stiles chewed on his lips and closed his eyes to keep the tears at bay. Derek shook his head as he tried to catch Stiles’ gaze. “Stiles, why did you go with Isaac? If you didn’t need an escape, to get away from him, why did you?” He asked softly. Stiles looked at Isaac for several long moments before he turned to look back at Derek, almost challenging him to doubt his next words. “I didn’t want Isaac to get hurt. It wasn’t his fault.” Derek nodded. “If you wouldn’t allow your friend to stay in that situation, because you knew he would get hurt, what makes you think we’re going to let you continue to be in that situation? I’m not letting you go back to him to get thrown around some more.” Derek tried to keep his words unchallenging as he could but he needed Stiles to know how serious he was about this. 

Stiles clenched his jaw and shook his head at Derek’s words. “He’s going to be pissed. You don’t...he doesn’t usually….” But Stiles’ voice trailed off as he started to realize that ‘he doesn’t usually do that’ had tipped from being a half truth to a full lie. More and more lately it had seemed like all he did was make Jonah angry. Closing his eyes and shaking his head again, Stiles let out another faint growl. No, Derek was just confusing him. 

Derek took Stiles’ hand between both of his. “Listen, Stiles. I’m not going to argue with you. And honestly, it wouldn’t matter, would it? You’ll never believe it until you’re ready to see the truth of it. It’s the way it always goes.” When Stiles spoke he shifted again, hissing when his movements caused his ribs to scream in pain, but he continued to try and push himself off of the couch. “I don’t know what to believe, Derek.” Stiles said through clenched teeth; he just needed to get up, to be moving. He could feel himself needing to fidget as his anxiety started to grow higher and higher. Derek watched in concern as Stiles struggled and caused himself pain; he even frowned when Stiles tried to push their hands away from him. “You are hell bent on punishing yourself, and I don’t know why, Stiles.” 

When Stiles snapped the sound that came from him was the closest to an actual growl that he had ever made; his head whipping to look back at Derek. “Because I fucked up, Derek! I was the one that invited everyone. I was the one that didn’t call him ahead of time and see how he felt about it. I WAS THE ONE THAT COULD HAVE GOTTEN ISAAC KILLED WITH MY OWN STUPIDITY!” When Stiles screamed the last bit, his arms instantly banded around his ribs; the pain causing him to double over even with the medication in his system. He forced himself to take several shallow breaths before he spoke again. “I knew he was angry and I still touched him, Derek. I know what he’s like, what his wolf is like, when angry.” 

Derek saw the way Isaac’s wide eyes, full of sadness, watched Stiles while he was trying to help the injured young man move so he wouldn’t hurt himself. The frantic knock on the door followed by Scott’s voice calling through the door interrupting the conversation. _“Derek? It’s me and Deaton.”_ With a growl of his own, Derek shook his head. “You’re delirious.” He said before he moved and opened the door. “Yea yea, Stiles is in here. I think he’s delirious with pain.” 

Stiles turned hurt eyes onto Derek before he just shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.” He finally muttered after a long moment of silence when Deaton and Scott made their way into the room. Derek opened his mouth to argue with Stiles, to try and get him to use that smart brain of his, but he knew there was little point in it. There was little point in being angry with Stiles, and honestly he wasn’t. He was more angry with himself and the situation; so with that in mind Derek carefully stood up. “I’m going to be in my office, give Deaton some room.” He gave them all a nod before he left the room, he needed to give himself some time to cool down.

**_“Ah, Mr. Stilinski. How can I help?”_ ** Stiles sighed, he watched Derek’s retreating back before closing his eyes when Deaton and Scott moved so that they were basically sitting on the table in front of him. “I’m fine.” He insisted as he swallowed. He should have known better than to try and convince Derek; the damn stubborn sour wolf that he was. He cracked his eyes open again when he felt Isaac shake his head next to him. _“You’re not fine, Stiles.”_ Stiles sent Isaac a glare as the beta started listing off his injuries. _“His ribs are hurt, he’s got some puncture wounds that seemed to have torn some, bruises…”_ Deaton nodded as he listened to Isaac, setting his bag down and pulling his stethoscope free of it. **_“I’ll take a listen first. If you don’t mind.”_ **

Stiles clenched his jaw as he looked back at Deaton. “I’m guessing you aren’t actually asking.” He said with a sigh as he finally let Isaac help him get into a better position on the couch. **_“No, unfortunately not. Deep breaths, please. In and out.”_ **Deaton spoke as he was already leaning forward to press the cold metal of the stethoscope to Stiles’ chest, causing Stiles to jerk at the cold which then caused him to hiss at the movement. “Deep breaths aren’t exactly possible right now.” He muttered angrily but he did his best to try and take as deep a breath as he could manage, fighting through the pain. 

**_“Well, your chest sounds clear.”_ ** Deaton said after he had taken a listen to both Stiles chest and his back; his hands moving to pull back the dressing that Derek had put on the claw wounds. **_“These...aren’t too deep. I’ll put some salve on them and they should heal fairly quickly.”_ ** Deaton spoke even as he was reaching into his bag of tricks for the salve in question. **_“I can see some bruising, here and across the expanse of your chest. I’d say you’ve probably fractured a rib or two. Very common but very painful. I can give you something to help with the pain and put you in a tight brace. That should help reduce some pain when you move.”_ **Stiles could feel his jaw tick as he clenched his teeth even harder and nodded. “Fine.” It took everything in him to not snap at Deaton; he could have told him he had cracked a few ribs. Hell, he was pretty sure they were the same two that had been bruised the last time he pissed JOnah off. Instead he just tried to keep his arms up and out of the way while deaton applied the salve and reapplied the bandage to his wounds. “Will...are the scratches deep enough that I have to worry about changing?” Stiles asked softly. He knew that Jonah wasn’t the alpha of his pack, but he was beginning to wonder; granted any time he’d seen his eyes glow they were blue and not red. This was Stiles, they were talking about, though; it would be just his luck. 

Stiles winced as Deaton made sure the bandage was secured before he began tightly wrapping Stiles’ ribs. **_“No, these wounds aren’t deep enough. You’re very lucky, Mr. Stilinski. Any deeper and these wounds might have actually killed you. Whoever did this, they weren’t intending to change you, they were likely trying to kill you.”_ **Stiles could only nod a bit at Deaton as his words sunk in just a bit; making Derek’s own words sink further in as well. “Right…” 

Had he angered Jonah to the point where he would have done that? Jonah always said he wouldn’t share him with anyone; he just didn’t think Jonah had meant it like that. What if it was an accident, though, and Jonah just hadn’t realized? Jonah didn’t ever seem the type to make that drastic of a mistake…

Once Stiles was wrapped tight and his shirt was rolled back down, Deaton was reaching back into his bag of tricks and pulling out a bottle to hand to him. **_“You should take two of these every four hours until the pain subsides. You’ll need to make sure to eat something when you take them, though. I mean it, Mr. Stilinski.”_ ** Stiles looked down at the bottle in his hand. “Why not?” Stiles knew that if he was going to have to start carrying some damn crackers around with him then he was going to make sure it was necessary. If the meds would just upset his stomach a bit, he could deal with that without the damn crackers. **_“Because you’ll vomit and continue to be in pain because the pills won’t stay down long enough to work. That and they can damage the lining of your stomach. Eating will also help you heal.”_ **Deaton’s calm voice as he explained caused Stiles’ to frown and nod; almost definitely grabbing a handful of fries and swallowing them before he was downing a couple more pain pills. “Sounds like a party.” He muttered before he was struggling to get up off of the couch; Isaac and Scott both reached out to try and help him only to be stopped by the wave of his hand. “I’m fine. I’m just tired.” He told them before he was slowly making his way up to the room that he had seen Isaac drop his shit off in. 

Derek heard Stiles moving through the loft, listening closely to his movements until the bedroom door closed and he heard him settle in the room. Seconds later, Derek wasn’t surprised to find Scott walking into his office, apparently leaving Isaac to help Deaton if needed. _“What happened?”_ Scott asked once he had barged into the office; causing Derek to sigh. “The asshold Stiles has been seeing apparently has a problem with keeping his hands to himself. I’ve half a mind to kill the bastard myself. I don’t know that that would solve anything, though; and I’m pretty sure it would end up causing a pack war.” Derek watched as Scott growled and moved to look out of the window of Derek’s office. _“Something doesn’t feel right. Something other than the fact that Stiles might have ended up dead, I mean. That whole pack doesn’t feel right.”_ Derek tilted his head a bit when Scott turned to look at him. _“How did Stiles end up here?”_

Derek ran a hand over his face. “It’s...I’m pretty sure it’s my fault. Close the door.” He said with a nod towards the door. _“I doubt it’s your fault.”_ Scott said as he moved to shut the door before returning to stand by the window. Derek shook his head before he started speaking again. “The night of Lydia’s party...Stiles came in here, half cut, mumbling about….he came onto me. I turned him down, probably not in the best way and he...I guess he went to Jonah to, I don’t know, rebound or whatever. And now this asshole has Stiles all but trapped.” Derek felt the way Scott froze for several long seconds before the other alpha was shaking his head. _“I remember that night….it wasn’t really your fault. I think it was mine.”_

Derek tilted his head at Scott’s words, his brow furrowing in confusion. “He came onto you, too?” His words caused Scott to shake his head quickly. _“No, no..not that. I’m the one that got him together with that asshole. I told Stiles he had been checking him out all night.”_ Derek let out a sigh. “It’s not your fault either. Not really. I just wish he could see this for what it is. I don’t know how to help him.” Derek confessed, running a hand over the back of his neck and tugging at his hair in frustration. _“We have to help him see.”_ Scott looked towards the closed door for several long seconds before he was also scratching the back of his head. _“Fuck, don’t tell him I told you this, but he’s been hooked on your for years, man. If anyone is going to be able to help him, it’s going to be you.”_

Derek’s frown grew deeper at Scott’s words, his confusion evident on his face. “Years? I thought he was just drunk out of his mind…” Fuck, now he really felt like an asshole. “I’ll try to help him, I promise.” Scott let out a faint snort as he shook his head. _“Nah, man. Sure, he may have gathered the courage to tell you by drinking, but you don’t just drink yourself to that level of infatuation.”_ With a sigh, Scott ran his hand over his face. _“We’ll all try. But we can’t let him go back there.”_ Derek let out a breath as he started building plans in his head on how to go forward, anything to keep him from actively thinking about the fact that Stiles was telling the truth and not just drunk. Now was NOT the time for that. “We won’t, Scott. I have no plans on letting him ever see that boy again. I’ll try and talk to him, see if I can get through to him.” 

Derek caught sight of Scott’s nod before he heard his soft laughter. _“Too bad we can’t just lock him in the loft, huh? Would make it easier to keep track of his stubborn ass.”_ Derek huffed and shook his head at that, instantly imagining all the ways it would end badly. “He’d break his neck trying to jump off the balcony.” Running a hand over his face, Derek turned to catch Scott’s attention. “Will you make sure Isaac is okay? He’s a little spaced out over everything; I want to make sure this isn’t going to set him back any.” As Scott was walking towards the door to do just that, he stopped and turned to look back at Derek. _“You know, Isaac might be able to help, actually. Who’s going to know what Stiles is dealing with mentally better than you two?”_ That made Derek think for a few quick seconds. “That’s true. If I don’t have any luck I’ll talk to Isaac and see if he’s up to talking to Stiles to see if he can help. Thanks, Scott.”

He had expected Scott to leave at that, what he hadn’t expected was for Scott to cross his arms over his chest. _“Give him time, okay? We all know Stiles is stubborn.”_ That was the understatement of the century but Derek nodded none-the-less to show that he’d heard Scott’s words. _“What are we going to do about this asshole? Because we can’t let this go unpunished.”_ Derek scratched the back of his neck before he let out a sigh of his own. “Find out what you can about him and his pack. Go through Deaton, see if he’s heard anything about them, then let me know what you find and we’ll figure something out. We have to know what we’re working with, first.” 

_“It doesn’t feel like it’s enough…for Stiles, anyway. That asshole is going to think he’s gotten away with it.”_ Scott sighed as he looked at the door once more, as if seeing past it. _“What are you going to do?”_ That was a question that Derek was still trying to figure out. “If I thought I could kill him without bringing on a pack war, he’d be dead already. Hell, I’m not even sure how I’m still sitting here right now.” Derek knew that it was a lie, and knew that Scott would be able to hear it if he was listening close enough; he knew how he was still sitting there. He didn’t want to leave Stiles when he was hurt. Hell, the majority of the pack at this point had alluded to the fact that they knew he felt something for the gangly young man. _“I’m pretty sure I know why.”_ Scott’s faint smile and almost smug look made Derek roll his eyes. “We don’t talk about that.” Derek’s own words were an admission that Scott was right, Derek just wasn’t willing to admit to it yet. “I’ll speak to him.” He said hurriedly as he got up and made his own way to the door. 

_“Sure thing, Derek. We won’t talk about it for now. And good luck. You might want to consider bolting the balcony door closed for a while, though. Best to not even let Stiles realize jumping out of it is an option.”_ Scott followed Derek out of the office before he was patting his shoulder and heading down the stairs. “Yea, that might be a good idea.” Derek muttered under his breath before he was making his way down the hall; stopping just long enough to lock the balcony door, before he was heading towards the guest room he could hear Stiles in and knocking lightly on the door. “Can I come in?” 

Stiles growled when he heard the knock at the door quickly followed by Derek’s voice; honestly he had been hoping that Derek would have just gone down stairs and left him alone for the rest of the night. “It’s your place.” He muttered, not caring to raise his voice as he knew that Derek would hear; wincing just a bit as he pushed himself up in the bed. When Derek came in, Stiles’ eyes followed him, watching from where he was propped up against the headboard with pillows as Derek shut the door behind him and moved to take the seat by the window. “You feeling any better?” Derek’s question caused Stiles to blink several times. “Sure.” He knew his tone was flat, but Stiles didn’t care; what kind of stupid question was that?!

“Do you want to talk? One time thing; I’ll be totally honest and I won’t dodge any questions. And just fair warning, I’ll deny this happened after if you ask again.” Derek offered, hoping that the blunt back and forth approach might be the best approach to trying to help Stiles; or at least a start to it. He could feel the skepticism coming off of Stiles as he narrowed his eyes at him and gave a slow nod. 

“Sure.” Stiles thought for a few seconds, going back and forth on what questions to ask before he settled on the most pressing one he could think of. “Why do you hate me?” He finally settled on blunt and abrupt; something easy for Derek to answer. Derek rolled his eyes and reached over to grab one of the pillows that Stiles wasn’t using, holding it in his lap and playing with the frayed edges as he answered. “I don’t hate you. Next question.” Stiles snorted and shook his head, not ready to leave this question yet. “You don’t hate me? Is that why you glare at me? Why you push me out of pack meetings?” Derek’s soft laugh didn’t exactly cause Stiles to feel better. “Stiles, I push you out of pack meetings to protect you; and only when needed. Any other time you’re always there. As for the glaring, I glare at everyone and everything. I thought you already knew that?” 

Stiles sighed as he started playing with a pillow of his own. “In case you haven’t noticed, I haven't been at any pack meetings, Derek.” Stiles was quiet for several long moments, his nails picking at the stitching on the pillow in his hands as he began to fidget just a little bit. “You’ve been busy, you were never excluded. Stiles, nobody has spoken to you for weeks.” Derek’s words cause Stiles to feel worse, caused him to stay quiet for a few longer moments before he gave up on trying to figure out this game. “What do you want me to ask you, Derek?” He saw the way Derek’s chest deflated just a bit before he spoke again. “Ask me the questions you asked me that night.” 

Stiles ground his teeth before he threw the nearest pillow in frustration; of course Derek would bring it back around to this. “Fine. Do you like me?” Try as he might, Stiles’ voice was small and weak even as he tried to pull his legs up into his chest. 

Derek clenched his jaw at Stiles’ question; even though he told him to ask it, it didn’t make this any easier. But he’d promised Stiles honesty. “Yes.” He kept his voice evan, slow, as he answered Stiles. He watched the way Stiles’ tongue swiped over his lips almost nervously and the younger man nodded; but Stiles refused to look at him. “Alright...do you want to do nefarious and dirty things with me?” Stiles could remember that conversation with an odd clarity, though given the fallout of that night Stiles thought that maybe it wasn’t that odd. Derek knew that this question was almost like playing with fire. “Stiles...I don’t think…” Fuck, Derek didn’t think this was the time to have this conversation, but he’d promised the truth. “Yes.” 

When Stiles clenched his jaw, Derek could feel the anger practically radiating off of him. “And is that because you think I’m some slut that throws myself after everything with a pulse?” Derek didn’t bother trying to hide his wince at that; it was a blow that he knew he deserved. “No..no, Stiles that was- I was angry. And I said some really stupid shit. I thought the only reason you wanted me was because you were drunk.” Derek didn’t want to push Stiles too far, hell he knew he’d fucked up royally, but other than apologizing Derek didn’t know what to do. 

Stiles ground his teeth together, the sound grating in his ears but anything was better than the fucking tears that he could feel building behind his eyes. “I told you it wasn’t because of the alcohol, why would I lie about that?” Stiles watched as Derek ran his hand over the back of his neck and shook his head. “I just figured you’d sober up and it would be something you forgot about. Even if I did feel that way, I could never….I wouldn’t take advantage of you like that. I tried to do the right thing, the adult thing.” With a groan, Stiles’ let his head fall back; causing a loud thud when his head hit the wall. “Do you really care that much about what other people think? That age would be such a big deal? Are you that shallow?” Derek frowned some at Stiles’ words. “It’s not what ‘they’ would think. It’s about what I think, how I feel. If I had given into these feelings, these wants, I’d be no better than her. Hell, I’d be just as bad as her and I won’t allow that to happen.” 

Stiles was quiet for a few moments, lifting his head and looking at Derek with a furrowed brow. Her? It didn’t take a genius to know that Derek was talking about Kate. He knew the story, hell just about everyone in the pack knew the story of Kate’s role in Derek’s life. How she had experimented on him under the guise of a relationship; how she had seriously abused Derek, mentally if not physically as well. “So, you think that because I’m seventeen and you’re older, that acting on your feelings for me would turn you into her? Make you like her? You’re telling me that, because I”m seventeen and you’re older that you would instantly start doing the same things to me that she did to you? That you would treat me like some experiment to study and learn from before murdering my family?” Stiles couldn’t even believe that that was a fear that Derek harbored, but still he shook his head; not giving Derek the time to answer any of the questions he had asked. “Would you...would you turn into...into him? Into Jonah?” Stiles had accepted that Jonah had hurt him, hell there was no way that he COULDN’T accept that Jonah had hurt him when each breath still hurt; but he still felt like that was his fault. 

“No! No...Stiles, I could never hurt you but...what if I couldn’t help it? What if she was right? That I’m just some monster that doesn’t deserve anyone? Look, I know I fucked up already and I should have been honest with you, but being honest with you meant being honest with myself and I wasn’t ready for that.” Derek could feel the way his hand was clenching the pillow. Stiles nodded, looking down at his hands and hiding a wince as he tried to move again; while the meds were starting to help, moving certain ways caused far too much pain. “Did you ever think that maybe, just maybe, you wouldn’t be like that because you are actually a better person then you give yourself credit for?” How could Derek not see just how amazing of a person he was? He cared about everyone in his pack, he had to see that he wasn’t like that at all. Derek sighed softly and tossed the pillow back onto the end of the bed. “I guess I didn’t give myself the chance to try. Look, I know it doesn’t mean much now, but I’m sorry that I didn’t stop him sooner.” 

Stiles head tipped to the side as he frowned at Derek in confusion. “Why are you apologizing? This...this wasn’t your fault, Derek. It’s all on me.” Derek shook his head as he moved to sit on the end of the bed. “None of this was your fault, Stiles. Not by a long shot. You trusted the wrong person and that’s something we’re all guilty of. It’s okay. It’s going to be okay.” Stiles had to blink rapidly at Derek’s words, the tick in his jaw growing stronger as he fought to keep control over himself. “How is this not my fault, Derek? How can you not see it’s all my fault?” Derek watched as Stiles fought to keep his eyes dry; he could smell the tears that he was fighting to keep back. “Did you ask him to hurt you? Stiles, did you really give him any reason to? Your actions were not unreasonable, and I think you know that.” 

Even as Stiles thought about it for a few more seconds, looking down at his hands and shaking his head, he knew that his own words would be weak when he spoke again. “No. THey were accidents...he said they were accidents.” Stiles caught his bottom lip between his teeth, worrying at it as he continued fighting to not cry. “Accidents that he kept repeating?” Derek’s voice was soft as he was practically willing Stiles to understand. He watched as Stiles swallowed and his fingers moved to pick at the edges of his nails, nodding with much less conviction this time.

There was a small voice telling Stiles to listen, even if he didn’t want to believe it. Jonah loved him...didn’t he? Derek was right about one thing, though. People who loved you, didn’t hurt you...right?

Derek moved slowly, lightly placing his hand on Stiles’ ankle just to touch and remind him that he was there with him. “I don’t want to push you into making any decisions, but you have to know that I want to protect you. That I will protect you.” Even when Stiles flinched unintentionally at the light touch, Derek kept the contact; keeping it light but making sure to ground Stiles so he wouldn’t spiral off into his own head like he was wont to do. Stiles swallowed around his tongue, which felt like it was two sizes too big, and looked up at Derek. “Why? Why do you want to protect me?” Even to his own ears his voice was soft, seeking. 

“Because you are mine to protect.” Derek’s admittance, even reluctant as it was, made Stiles blink a few more times. “Yours? Yours how? Just another member of the pack? Not a full one, not as I am.” He licked his lips, his hands gripping at the pillow next to him to keep from showing they were shaking. “No, Stiles. Like you’re mine to have, to keep. I can’t really explain it. It’s just the way your scent makes me feel.” Stiles frowned at that, looking back at Derek. “Another possession, then?” He asked quietly, his brows knitting together in confusion. “My scent? How does my scent make you feel?” 

Derek was quick to shake his head, to put that fear he could feel in Stiles to rest. “No, not like that like uh….” He sighed softly before he continued. “Like I need to protect you, like losing you would kill me. Like you’re my mate. My wolf howls every time you’re in pain. It’s distracting.” Stiles let out a faint snort at Derek’s words. “I can’t imagine the headache you’re dealing with now, then.” He muttered before twisting a bit to get comfortable again. “Mate? Derek, why didn’t you just tell me all of this that first time?” Derek shook his head again. “Because I couldn’t...it wouldn’t have been fair to you and I’m not sure I was ready for whatever would have come of it. I’m still not sure I’m ready.” 

Stiles’ fingers started picking at the skin on his lip as he considered Derek’s words. “What do you think is going to come of this, Derek? Because, right now, I don’t even know how I’m still breathing despite the pain medication.” Derek squeezed Stiles ankle slowly, trying to give him comfort. “I don’t know, Stiles. Nothing right now. You need to get through this, move forward. And we’ll help you, the whole pack. We’ll just have to take it one day at a time.” Derek reached up slowly, carefully wrapping his hand around Stiles’ to stop him from peeling more skin off of his lip when he caught the faint scent of fresh blood. “I can’t stay here, Derek….I’ll just be in the way.” Stiles’ voice was still soft and it broke Derek’s heart, caused his wolf to cry out, eager to sooth Stiles. “In my guest room? You won’t be in the way, Stiles. And, when you’re healed, you can go home if that’s really what you want.” 

Ignoring the pain that moving caused, Stiles brought his knees up and wrapped his arms around them. “I’m always in the way Derek, you know that. And I can’t go home. Dad would….Dad would have a fit. The last thing he needs is something else to worry about.” Derek shook his head, determined to get Stiles to understand. “You’re never in the way, Stiles. And I’m sorry, but you’re not going back to that creep, either.” Derek could see the way Stiles’ jaw clenched as he ground his teeth and let out an exasperated huff. “Derek, don’t.” When he spoke, however, Derek heard less anger and more exhaustion and defeat. “Alright, I’ll stop. If you need me, just shout. Or feel free to text me if you don’t want to shout.” Standing, Derek gave Stiles’ hand a squeeze and made his way towards the door. “I’m fine, Derek. I just...I want to sleep. The stupid pills Deaton gave me aren’t helping me stay awake.” Derek smiled at Stiles’ words and nodded. “Get some sleep, I’ll bring you some more food when you wake up again.”

\---------------------------------------

It had taken months, _months_ , for Stiles to convince Derek it was okay for him to leave the loft; and it was only after Isaac promised to stay at the loft with Stiles that Derek agreed. Well, after Isaac promised to stay and Stiles promised not to try and sneak out of the loft to go back to Jonah; and Derek hearing that Stiles’ words weren’t a lie. Over those months he and Derek had spent so much time together. Derek had talked to the sheriff after Stiles had finally given him the okay, explaining everything that had happened and between the three of them they had agreed that it was safer for Stiles to stay at the loft until Jonah was found. It took several hours longer for Derek and Stiles to convince the sheriff that he shouldn’t go off to try and hunt down Jonah himself. In the time since Stiles officially moved in, Derek and he had taken to spending at the very least a half hour each night just...talking. About things, anything; and Derek, along with Isaac, had helped him start to realize that his relationship with Jonah hadn’t been healthy in the least bit. Derek had just left and Stiles had finally laid down in the hopes to get some sleep, when he heard a loud noise that had him sitting up in the bed again; making a face when he turned just right and his still newly healed ribs ached a bit. 

He knew Isaac was down stairs but he wanted to make sure that he was okay. “Wha-” Stiles’ breath caught in his throat when, before he could get to the door himself, it swung open and Jonah walked into the room. “What are you...what are you doing here?” Stiles could feel his heart pounding frantically in his chest. **_“Ahh, Stiles. There you are.”_ ** Stiles watched as Jonah raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side, taking him in. **_“Listen, kid. Clearly the jig is up, right? I’ve waited outside this ridiculous hovel for that pathetic excuse of an alpha to leave, so why don’t you just come with me and I’ll let your little beta friend out there live long enough for your alpha to keep him alive.”_ **Stiles paled at Jonah’s words, his eyes flickering between Jonah and the door, debating whether or not he would be able to get past him and to Isaac without Jonah getting him; he had to know that Isaac was okay, but his chances of getting away without Jonah getting him were slim to none. 

“Why do you want me?” Stiles asked as he tried to move to the side in the hopes that Jonah would move further from the door. His chances may be slim to none, but he had to try; especially if Isaac was hurt. **_“Well now, that’s a loaded question, Stiles. I don’t particularly want you, but my alpha does and that means you’re valuable. Now, be a good boy and let's go.”_ **Stiles narrowed his eyes as he watched Jonah carefully, his arm wrapped around his body as if to protect himself while he continued to try and edge around Jonah while staying out of his reach; not that it mattered, Jonah could move faster than Stiles could. “I’m just human though…” Stiles muttered as he glanced just beyond Jonah’s shoulder to see Isaac through the bars of the stair rails, slumped on the floor below them. “Isaac!” Stiles called without thinking, his body moving without thought as well as he tried to push his way past Jonah to get to Isaac to help him. 

**_“Why do you have to make everything so damn difficult?!”_ ** Jonah growled as his hand snapped out to grip Stiles’ arm in a bruising grip, turning Stiles mid-step to slam him into the doorway, dazing him, and hoisting him up and over his shoulder with a low, threatening growl before walking down the hallway. **_“I’m sure he’s not dead. Maybe.”_ ** Jonah added, as if trying to explain away why Isaac was passed out on the floor. **_“And if you’re a good boy and keep your mouth shut, maybe I’ll tell my pack to let your alpha live. At least a little longer.”_ **Stiles let out a gasp of pain when his side connected with the doorway, causing his ribs to ache so sharply again that he was sure they’d been at least bruised again. “Jonah, don’t do this...please.” He said as he pushed at Jonah’s back to try and get down; struggling even when the movements caused him pain as well. 

**_“You’re talking too much.”_ ** Jonah’s growl vibrated through Stiles even as his grip on Stiles tightened even further. **_“Stop talking.”_ ** Stiles could hear the warning in his words as he carried him out the back entrance of the loft. “Jonah...Stop!” Stiles ground his teeth as he continued to struggle until Jonah pulled him off of his shoulder and pulled back just enough to land a blow to the side of Stiles’ head. While the blow wasn’t enough to knock him out, Stiles still felt the world grow fuzzy around himself for a few moments; long enough for Jonah to get him tossed into the van he had carried him to. **_“You know, you were so much easier to deal with when you were naked and on your knees.”_ ** Stiles shook his head, ignoring Jonah’s words in favor of getting the world back into focus; frowning when he heard the voice of what Stiles could only assume was Jonah’s packmate. _“Adam was expecting us five minutes ago. What took so long?”_

 **_“He’s a pain in the ass, alright. I told you what he was like.”_ ** Jonah growled as he slammed the van door behind him and started tying Stiles up; though Stiles made it hard for him, lashing out, kicking at Jonah as he tried to scramble for the van door without much success. _“You should have just knocked him out to begin with.”_ Jonah sighed at his packmate’s words. **_“I figured I still had a hold on him. I guess the Hale alpha has been hard at work.”_ ** Without another word, Stiles felt Jonah launch at him before he was pressing his knee into Stiles hip. **_“Adam needs you alive but he doesn’t need you conscious. Keep pushing me and I swear I will beat you until you’re not moving anymore.”_ **As Jonah’s words sunk in, Stiles stopped struggling; if he was unconscious he couldn’t figure out the best way to get away from them. Or even where they were taking him. Clenching his jaw, the muscles jumping at the force of it, Stiles glared at Jonah; he knew the hurt was evident in his eyes. “Why does he want me? I’m a fucking human.” The growl that came from Stiles as he spoke, Stiles was sure that Derek would have been proud of it; well, in any other situation that is. 

**_“He must see something nobody else could possibly see. If Adam didn’t need you for his plans to work, for some reason, I’d have assumed he had wanted you for our pack; and you could have had a real nice place with me and the pack if you had just not been such a damn nuisance, such a little shit.”_ ** Stiles watched as Jonah leaned against the metal siding of the van. “I already have a pack.” When Stiles licked his lips he caught a split in it and grimaced; growling again at Jonah, though that statement was a partial truth, wasn’t it? Before Isaac had brought him to Derek’s, he hadn’t seen Scott or Derek or really anyone else from the pack for several months, outside of school. Stiles couldn’t help but fidget the longer they drove, just barely restraining from kicking out at Jonah as best he could given his restraints. **_“You think they’ll want you now? You’re useless, used and do nothing but cause trouble.”_ ** He watched as Jonah eyed him carefully. **_“Why do they keep you around, anyway? What possible use are you to them? Just some passably pretty face?”_ **

Stiles hated that there was a little nagging part of his mind that was agreeing with Jonah, hell it was the part that Jonah had seemed to curate within him. Stiles swallowed as he forced that part of his brain to shut up. “I’m more than a pretty face; you’d know that if you got off your knees once in a while.” Stiles knew it was stupid, goading Jonah so that he looked weaker in the eyes of his pack mate, but sarcasm was basically the only defense that Stiles had at that point. The bark of a laugh that came from Jonah was the only warning Stiles had before he backhanded him so hard that his lip split even further. 

**_“I didn’t hear you complaining every time I swallowed you down. I didn’t hear you complaining when you gave me everything. You gave me the one thing you can’t get back. How does that feel, huh? To know that I will always own that piece of you.”_ **

Stiles tongue lashed out over his bleeding lip, collecting the blood only to spit it out at Jonah once he’d cleaned his lip as best he could. “You mean I was supposed to feel something? Guess that’s something you should get looked at. I hear they have things that can help with size problems.” Stiles could hear Jonah’s packmate laugh at that, even as an evil grin spread across Jonah’s features. **_“Oh, It’s gonna be so good watching you die.”_ ** Stiles clenched his jaw at Jonah’s words, instead deciding to focus on the fact that the van had already started to slow; they couldn’t have gone too far then. “You wouldn’t be the first pack of stupid assholes to waltz in here and think you could do whatever you wanted. I hope Derek kills you slowly.” Despite his words, Stiles’ could feel the way his heart sped up as the van finally rolled to a stop. _“Get out. Adam wants to speak to you. I’ll take care of him.”_

Stiles could tell by the tick in Jonah’s jaw and the faint growl he gave as he hopped out of the back that he was pissed; though that seemed to be a constant for him. **_“You might want to paralyze this one.”_** Jonah threw over his shoulder before he was disappearing into the trees. When the packmate came around to pull him out of the van, Stiles lashed out as best he could, trying to kick the man as his hands were still tied. He instantly regretted that action, however, when the other man simply caught, broke and dislocated his leg with nothing but a raised eyebrow; ignoring the scream of pain that came from Stiles and hauled him up onto his shoulder and across the field and then slammed him onto the large tree stump. _“Stay still, you little shit!”_ With the help of a few other wolves that seemed to come out of nowhere, they managed to get Stiles tied down, spread completely open, to the stump of the Nemeton. “Fuck you! DEREK!” Stiles whipped his head back and forth when one of the wolves tried to gag him as he screamed; he only prayed that Derek had somehow heard him before his scream was cut off by another backhand. _“I said, shut up.”_ Stiles shuddered when he heard Jonah approaching; the man’s threatening laugh branded into his mind. **_“Gag him. Clearly he can’t keep his mouth shut otherwise.”_**

Stiles turned his head, trying to bite the wolf that approached him to try and gag him again. “Stop! DEREK!” He called out again, he didn’t know what else to do and he was terrified. He watched as Jonah sighed and crouched down next to Stiles’ head, his fingers running through Stiles’ hair. **_“Such a shame.”_ ** Stiles could tell that Jonah wasn’t sincere at all. “Jonah, please….please?” Stiles was terrified and at this point the only thing he could think that might save his own life, might be appealing to Jonah and whatever feelings he might have for him. “Please, I’ll do anything, just let me go. You don’t need me.” Jonah hummed before his grip tightened painfully in Stiles’ hair. **_“No, I don’t need you. But he does.”_ ** With Jonah’s grip in his hair, Stiles was forced to look where he turned his head. **_“Do you know who he is, Stiles?”_ **Stiles eyes flicked over the man approaching before they looked back up at Jonah as best he could. “Some asshole who thinks he’s all that and more?” His words dripped in sarcasm as the only defense he had left kicked in; even as he was pulling at the bindings keeping him in place. 

The smirk that graced Jonah’s features should have scared Stiles, but his heart was already trying to beat it’s way out of his chest so fast he was surprised it hadn’t exploded already. **_“He’s Adam, Stiles. He’s the first man, the first wolf, and soon, he’ll be a god amongst men.”_ ** Stiles could feel the blood draining even further from his face as he swallowed, his adam’s apple bobbing as he pulled even harder at the ropes; causing them to tighten so much that his fingers started to feel a bit numb. “So some psychopath. Fitting.” His voice wavered a bit, however, when he saw the silver blade that Adam held at his side as he approached. **_“You know, you should see this as a monumental moment. Your sacrifice will be the beginning of a better world; the ushering in of the god the world needs.”_ **Stiles thrashed his head to try and pull his head out of Jonah’s touch as the other man brushed Stiles’ hair out of his eyes; he could see Adam eyeing them both carefully the closer he got. “You’re insane, all of you.” From where he was tied down, Stiles’ gaze bounced between Adam, Jonah and the several other wolves that seemed to have joined them around the stump; creating a circle around the three of them. “You do this and they’ll never stop hunting you. There isn’t a god around that could stop them from finding you and killing you.” 

Jonah’s laughter at his words made Stiles swallow. **_“Of course there isn’t a god around, we’re counting on it.”_ ** Adam’s looming presence seemed to block everything else out. **_“Hold him steady.”_ ** Stiles struggled as best he could against the binds to try and keep Jonah’s hands off of him; a pained noise coming from him when another wolf wrapped a fist in his hair to help hold him in place until Jonah could get a better grip on him in a position that Adam needed. “Stop! DEREK!!” Stiles cried out loudly, one last desperate attempt before Jonah was forcing his head back and Adam brought the blade down in an arch; Stiles’ scream was even louder as the blade sunk into his chest, coating Adam’s hands as he pulled the knife back with a grin across his features. Stiles was barely able to register the sound of people approaching as he felt his skin split for the blade, the way his blood felt like it was on fire as he welled up, bubbling over and sliding down his side to paint the Nemeton red; he tugged at the bindings as best he could to try and get his arms free even as he struggled to breathe. He had to try and stop the bleeding.

\---------------------------------------

Derek was already throwing his shirt onto the counter as he walked into the loft; pausing when he caught an unwelcome scent in his home. “Stiles? Isaac?” With a nod towards Scott, who had followed him in as well, Scott disappeared up the stairs to check that level while Derek checked further into the living space. He heard Isaac groan as he came around the corner; seeing him pushing himself up off the floor while holding the back of his head. _“M’here…”_ Isaac’s voice was muffled as Derek helped him sit up. “What happened? Where’s Stiles?” He moved his own hand when Isaac rubbed the back of his head. _“I heard a noise and came to check it out. I caught Jonah’s scent just before something crashed into the back of my skull.”_ When Isaac looked up at him, Derek could see the fear in his eyes. _“Stiles….he...he’s not here?”_ Derek was just about to get up to check for himself when Scott came running into the room. _“Stiles is gone. He was scared; that whole room is saturated in his fear.”_

Derek managed to suppress a growl as he helped Isaac up onto his feet, keeping a hand on him to help steady him when Isaac paled. _“Shit...Derek, I’m sorry, I was supposed to keep an eye on him!”_ Derek shook his head while he started for the door. “They took him. Scott, call the others. We’re going to follow the scent.” With that Derek took off, back out of the loft, with Isaac on his heels. _“I’m sorry...Derek…”_ Derek shook his head as they moved. “Don’t apologize, Iz. You can’t blame yourself for this. We all thought he was safe here. We told him he was safe here.” Running a hand over his face, Derek stopped long enough to try and catch Stiles’ scent. “We just need to track his scent. Help me find it.” Derek felt more than saw Isaac nod as they both took the few precious moments needed to find the faint traces of Stiles’ scent. _“Derek! Here!”_ Derek ran after Isaac as they both took off in the direction the scent disappeared; he could feel Scott coming after them as well while still on the phone with everyone. “Follow it, we have to find him.” 

Derek and Isaac ran through along the road, following the faint trail of Stiles scent mixed with oil; they must have put him into a car of some kind. _“Derek? Isn’t this where the…”_ Derek pushed harder, feeling the others as they all caught up; pushing them to move faster. He couldn’t bring himself to respond, Derek knew exactly where they were heading; all the years of tragedy before him, all he could think to do was shift and run. Letting his paws carry him as fast as they could towards the Nemeton; a low and lethal growl coming from Derek the closer they got. When Derek heard Stiles’ scream, however, he used it as fuel for movement; breaking through the treeline to reach Stiles’ scent, but it was wrong. Stiles’ scent was marred in blood and it made Derek see red; his eyes glowing as he growled fiercely and eyed the man with the knife’s throat. He felt Scott, Isaac and Erica break through the trees to his right as the others came through the trees to his left. 

Derek caught the man standing over Stiles’ smirking at him. **_“You’re too late, little alpha.”_ ** The man was taunting him, even going so far as to licking Stiles’ blood off of the knife he was holding before turning to leave. The fight broke out around them just as Derek started growling; looking between the retreating back of the asshole with the knife and Stiles, prone on the stump. He growled maliciously, this time at Jonah, until the other man backed away from Stiles as well. When Derek heard Stiles’ heart starting to wain, Derek knew he had no time; he couldn’t kill the alpha, or even that beta, and save Stiles. And, honestly, it wasn’t even a choice for him. Turning fast, Derek made it to Stiles' side and sunk his teeth into Stiles’ hip; as he pulled back, Derek shifted back to human and held his breath. He had no idea if the bite would work, if it would take, but Derek couldn’t let him die. 

The harder it got to breathe, the more Stiles’ vision started going in and out; the pain his body was going through coupled with the decreased oxygen had stars forming before his eyes as he almost passed out. When Derek’s teeth sunk into his hip the pain was enough to pull him back from unconsciousness; causing a gurgled scream, or what could have passed as one, to come from him. Though, the sound was weak and wet at best. From the corner of his eyes, Derek saw the asshole with the knife and several others from the pack disappear into the trees, but Derek couldn’t follow him, he couldn’t leave Stiles alone; especially when his body started convulsing and pulling at the ropes tying him down before he passed out completely. Derek was already working at getting Stiles free when Isaac, Erica and Scott finished with the wolves they were fighting and ran over to join him. Just as Derek finished freeing one of Stiles’ wrists and was moving to untie the other when the sky darkened suddenly and a flash of lightning struck the Nemeton and Stiles, right through the chest, and blowing back everyone surrounding the tree stump; causing Stiles’ body to bow off of the stump and gasp, even while unconscious.

As Derek waited for the plume of smoke to pass, he was unsure what the hell had happened but he did his best to focus on the fact that Stiles was still breathing. He glanced at Isaac and the rest of the pack to make sure they were okay before looking back at Stiles; noting the sparks of light and energy jumping off of Stiles even after the smoke cleared. “Someone else tell me he’s breathing.” Derek could swear he saw Stiles’ chest moving, could hear his heartbeat growing stronger with each beat, but he needed someone else to confirm it; he couldn’t trust that it wasn’t just his own mind showing him what he wanted to see. Derek didn’t take his eyes off of Stiles as Isaac approached, avoiding the sparks and leaned over him so that he could listen to Stiles’ heart and see his chest move as he took a breath. _“He’s breathing. But….I don’t….that lightning hit him square in the chest...right over his heart...how is he…?!”_ Scott moved closer, kneeling down to help finish untying Stiles while Erica wrapped her arms around Isaac to comfort him while she could also press a hand to Derek’s shoulder to give him the same comfort. _“Is that why he’s still unconscious?”_

Derek clenched his jaw, squeezing Erica’s hand and then Isaacs as he stood himself and took a moment to calm his wolf and his senses. “I don’t know. He’s alive we have...we have to move him from here.” Isaac and Erica stood beside Derek, pressing close to give him support even as they were all moving. “We’ll take him home” Once Stiles was free, Scott moved to pick Stiles up. _“He’s free, let’s get him home.”_ Derek was grateful for the touch, grateful for the support and allowed himself to soak it up for a moment as they all started walking through the trees. “How many were left?” Derek knew that that information was important, that he needed to ask, but his wolf was howling something awful in his head; he was hoping the information would help drown out his wolf for a little while. _“I counted at least four that got away.”_ Isaac’s quiet voice broke through and Derek frowned, clenching his jaw; he didn’t like that so many had managed to get away, much less that the assholes that had hurt Stiles had. Running a hand over his face, Derek let out a sigh. “We’ll deal with that once we make sure that Stiles is okay.” Looking down at Stiles, who made a faint noise when Scott shifted him but otherwise didn’t wake, Derek couldn’t help but frown as the loft came into sight. “He’s going to hate that I turned him.” 

_“No he won’t. Especially not if it meant dying otherwise. He’d hate himself if he left his dad alone.”_ Scott’s words helped, as did Isaac’s hand on his back. _“Let’s get him back to the loft. We can focus on getting him to wake up and have Deaton come by to take a look at him too.”_ Derek could tell that Isaac was trying to reassure him, and he appreciated it, he just couldn’t help but be worried. “Yea, call Deaton. At the very least he can take a look at Stiles and he might have an idea about what the hell happened. Or why the assholes did this.” When Erica held up her phone to show that she had just hung up with Deaton, Scott had just come back down the stairs. _“He’s on his way. Derek, why don’t you go stay with Stiles, maybe having someone from the pack close will help wake him up sooner?”_ Derek hesitated, only a brief moment, before he finally nodded and followed Erica’s suggestion; taking the stairs two at a time and stopping only long enough to pull on a pair of jeans before he was entering Stiles’ room. Stiles looked so small on the bed as Derek laid down next to him, so fragile; when Derek wrapped his arm gently around Stiles and pulled him to him until Derek could wrap protectively around him, he only prayed that Stiles would wake soon. As it was, it appeared as if his wounds had healed over; a small blessing. “I swear, Stiles. If you die I’m going to be so pissed at you.” While the others waited for Deaton, Derek took the moment to bury his nose in Stile’s neck and breath in his scent; even if it was tinged with the coppery scent of his blood. 

\--------------------------------------

Derek awoke with a start when he heard a soft knock at the door to Stiles room; he hadn’t even realized he was falling asleep but the steady cadence of Stiles’ heart mixed with having him in his arms, safe, seemed to have settled Derek’s wolf enough for them to fall asleep. Sitting up, Derek checked on Stiles and then got off the bed to open the door; stepping aside when he saw that it was Deaton. _“I was told Mr. Stilinski needed help. Would you care to tell me what happened?”_

Once Deaton was in the room, Derek shut the door behind him; while he knew the pack was concerned, the last thing they needed to do was be completely crowding the room while Deaton was making sure Stiles was alright. “The short version? Rogue pack that was staying just outside of the territory decided to move in, kidnap Stiles and almost succeeded in sacrificing him on the Nemeton. I bit him to try and save him but he was struck by some weird lightning just after and he hasn’t woken up yet.” When Deaton seemed to hesitate at his words, Derek couldn’t help but narrow his eyes at the man. “What?” Derek demanded even as Deaton leaned over to check Stiles’ pulse; the other man shaking his head. _“You said they tried to sacrifice him on the Nemeton?”_ Derek nodded, moving to stand on the other side of the bed, his hand resting in Stiles’ hair. “Yes, you wouldn’t happen to know why, would you?” The other man hummed faintly before he was grabbing his stethoscope and checking the rhythm of Stiles’ heart. _“There are any number of reasons that someone would try to sacrifice another soul at the Nemeton; almost all of which had to do with obtaining the power that the Nemeton holds.”_

Derek’s frown deepened as he shook his head. “The Nemeton has been inactive for generations; dormant.” Derek’s fingers stroked slowly through Stiles’ hair, the move comforting him as much as each of Stiles’ breaths. _“Dormant and inactive, yes, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be awoken with the proper ritual.”_ The growl that Derek let out was angry and low. “Proper ritual, you mean sacrificing a life to it?” Deaton put his stethoscope away and leaned against the end of the bed. _“It can’t just be any life. In order to wake something that old and that powerful, it takes the life of someone who possesses strong magic. More so with this Nemeton; it’s the oldest that us druids know about, it’s not just nature’s power that resides deep within it. There are other powers, just as old if not older, that are harbored within.”_

Looking down at Stiles, at the way his features looked so relaxed in sleep, Derek couldn’t help but wonder over what Deaton had said. Someone possessing magic; they had known that Stiles was a spark for some time, but Derek hadn’t known what that had entailed. None of them had; except maybe Deaton. “So Stiles...you said he was a spark. But it’s more than that, isn’t it? That’s why they wanted him for the sacrifice.” Derek’s words were less seeking answers and more wanting confirmation that his conclusions were correct. _“That was my suspicion, yes. I had a feeling that Mr Stilinski’s spark might have just been the beginning of his magic manifesting. With his change, however, I’m not sure how it will impact his magic; time will have to tell on that front.”_

Derek let out a breath as he ran his free hand over his face and nodded; he was too tired to yell at the infuriating druid. “Is he okay? The lightning that struck him- how is he still alive?” Derek could tell by the way that Deaton’s head tipped to the side that he was thinking of several different possibilities. _“I can’t tell you anything for sure, just yet. And we won’t know what effect the lightning combined with the bite will have had on him. There are a few different possibilities, but I ask that you give me time to research. When I have something I think is more solid than just possibilities, I’ll let you and Mr. Stilinski know.”_ Derek wanted to growl, he wanted to demand answers from the druid but he knew that would be no use. “But he’s okay? He hasn’t woken up yet.” Derek did his best to keep his own fear out of his voice but it was almost impossible; his wolf was whimpering with worry and it was just making matters worse. The smile that Deaton gave him, however, helped settle him some. _“As far as I can tell while he is still asleep, Mr. Stilinski is fine. I think his body is just taking the time to finish the change and heal whatever damage he had. He’ll wake when he’s ready; but I assure you that as far as I can see, he’s fine physically. If you’re still concerned I’d suggest calling Melissa or bringing him to the hospital, but I do think he’ll be fine.”_

For the first time since Derek had found out that Stiles had been taken, he was able to let out a breath of relief; as much of one as he could, anyway. With the four members of the other pack that had managed to get away still out there, Derek wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to relax until they were found. “Thank you, Deaton.” Derek’s fingers continued brushing slowly through Stiles’ hair, giving and receiving comfort from the touch. “Can you get in touch with any of your contacts and see if they have any information on a rogue pack with a beta named Jonah with an alpha with blonde hair and grey, almost black eyes? Stiles might have more names when he wakes up.” Derek watched as Deaton gathered up all of his things and started heading towards the door. _“I’ll reach out to see what I can find. If you get the alpha’s name, let me know. It’ll make finding more information on them easier. It might be a bit before I hear back. Until then, if you or Mr. Stilinski have need of me, you have my number.”_

Once Deaton left the room, quietly shutting the door behind him, Derek moved back to the bed; hesitating for a moment before he was climbing back onto it and wrapping himself around Stiles once more while the other man slept. “I need you to wake up, Stiles. I know you’re going to be pissed at me, I know that this isn’t what you wanted, but I couldn’t lose you. Not after I just got you back.” A part of Derek wished that Stiles had been awake to hear his last sentence, but another part was happy that he was out cold; if he had been awake to hear it, maybe they could have pushed past some more barriers, both his and Stiles’. With a sigh, Derek tucked his face back against Stiles’ neck and closed his eyes; he wasn’t going anywhere until Stiles awoke and he knew the pack knew to stay away for a bit while they both slept. Even if they were all anxious to reassure themselves that Stiles was okay; Derek was taking some time to be selfish. 

\--------------------------------------

When Stiles woke it was in stages; weaving his way through the fog that was clouding his mind, trying to find the way out as his hearing started to kick back in; only this time it sounded like everything had been turned up to eleven. He could make out voices, and if he focused hard enough he could pick out each person. He could hear Scott, trying to be upbeat about something but Stiles could hear the anxious edge to his voice. Erica’s voice was easy enough to pick up, the anger she felt was causing her to speak louder than the rest of them. Boyd’s voice was deep, it was almost like he could feel it reverberating in his chest as he was trying to calm Erica down. Mixed in with them he could pick out Kira, Jackson and Lydia as well; why was everyone there?

With a deep breath Stiles was able to feel a heavy weight against his chest; focusing on that weight he could feel a similar one, though lighter, across his waist. An arm, his mind supplied; it would only make sense. That same deep breath supplied a scent that just screamed of home to him; pine just before a rainstorm, almost like the smell of fresh, wet, earth. That scent lit up his senses; it pulled at something deep within him, luring it forward so that Stiles could have sworn that he felt a brush of fur against his mind.

As the fog started to clear, events of the last three hours he could remember started coming back to him; just in bits and pieces. He remembered Jonah, the hits and the way he had thrown him into a van of some kind, a short drive...being tied to the Nemeton...a flash of silver. Isaac! Isaac had gotten hurt, hadn’t he? He’d gotten hurt because of him. That thought was sobering,enough so that it pushed back the last of the fog in his brain; clearing it out enough that he was able to wake fully, but still he didn’t move. He didn’t want to dislodge the person that was sleeping atop of him. 

The person who, when Stiles was able to crack open his eyes, had a mess of black hair and for once didn’t have a scowl pulling at his features. Derek. Something within Stiles started practically purring as he slowly regained control of his limbs and brought his hand up to slowly card it through Derek’s hair; it wasn’t often that anyone saw the brooding alpha look so open and relaxed, Stiles wanted to prolong it as much as he could for the other man. If even half of the things that Stiles remembered had actually happened, he had no doubt that Derek had been put through the ringer. True to form for Derek, however, he didn’t stay sleeping for more than a few moments once Stiles started moving. In fact, he woke with a start that had Stiles flinch as well. 

“Stiles. You’re awake.” Derek couldn’t believe it, he was scared to believe it; especially since Stiles had been asleep for almost a full two days, at this point Derek was worried that it actually was his imagination playing tricks on him. “Mmm, it would seem that way. What happened?” Stiles asked as he carefully tried to lead Derek to lay back down on his chest, his fingers still playing with Derek’s hair. Derek hesitated for a moment, what he wanted to do was curl back up with Stiles and just hold him; reassure himself that Stiles was actually okay. But at the same time, he knew that Stiles was probably starving and he was likely crushing him; and didn’t that make him blush just a bit, because when he had fallen asleep he had had Stiles tucked against his chest, not the other way around. 

“What do you remember?” Derek wasn’t sure how much he needed to share, or really how much Stiles would be ready or willing to hear; so he would let Stiles tell him what holes needed to be filled. He could tell by the large sigh that Stiles let out that that wasn’t the type of answer Stiles had wanted, but tough. 

“Why are you so difficult?” Stiles would deny it to anyone else, but his bottom lip definitely popped out in a pout before he was rolling his eyes. “Fine I...I remember hearing a noise, I thought it might have been Isaac, it wasn’t. I remember Jo...I remember him threatening to kill Isaac if I didn’t go with him, and even after fighting him he still managed to drag me out of here. There was some kind of van, then I was tied down and some asshole with a knife….” Stiles licked his lips as he hesitated and, bless him, Derek gave him the moment without interrupting. “I felt the blade, Derek….I felt the blade and everything got cold and…” When Derek felt Stiles start to shake a bit, he wrapped his arm tighter around Stiles’ waist and shifted their positions until he could hug him into his chest but so that Stiles would have room to move should he feel trapped and start to panic. “It’s okay, Stiles. I’ve got you.” Derek nuzzled into Stiles’ hair, one of his hands resting against the back of Stiles’ neck in a comforting touch. “How am I not dead?” Stiles’ voice was soft, straining to hold back the fear he could fear he could feel bubbling up within himself. 

Derek used the hand that wasn’t at the back of Stiles’ neck to brush over his back. “You almost did. You were bleeding out and I couldn’t lose you again. I gave you the bite to save your life. I know you refused the bite when Peter offered it to you, but I couldn’t lose you. Not again. If you don’t ever forgive me, I wouldn’t blame you.” By the time Derek finished speaking his words had trailed off; voice soft. He didn’t ever expect Stiles to forgive him for the bite, but he didn’t regret it; not if it meant that Stiles got to live a full life. 

“You saved me.” Stiles’ response was so soft, and his words muffled from where he had his head pressed into Derek’s shoulder, that Derek almost missed them. “I...thank you.” Lifting his head, Stiles moved up Derek’s body just enough so that he could brush their cheeks together; feeling the creature within him start to purr and the answering vibrations coming from Derek’s chest as well. “I’m scared, that doesn’t change that, but...thank you.” 

Derek slowly brushed his fingers against the back of Stiles’ neck as he looked at him in almost disbelief. “You never have to thank me, Stiles. Never.” 

\-------------------------------------

Between Deaton and the Argents, it wasn’t hard to find information on the rogue pack once Stiles told them the Alpha’s name; within a month’s time they knew every move the pack had made before coming to Beacon Hills. 

_“I’ve had every druid I know check each of the sacred groves; so far there have been five desecrated Nemetons. Christopher found that almost an entire pack in Marseille was wiped out because they wouldn’t allow Adam and his pack access to the Nemeton there or their Emissary.”_ Deaton’s words were clinical, but Derek could practically feel the foreign feeling of anger that was slowly emmenating off of the druid; in all the years that Derek had known the man, he’d never once actually felt anger from him. “Wait, only five? Aren’t there hundreds around the world?” Stiles’ confusion was palpable from where he was leaning against Derek’s side. 

_“That’s correct. The only thing each of the desecrated places have in common is that each pack that protected it had a spark of their own.”_ Stiles’ eyes went wide at Deaton’s words and Derek could feel the anxiety echoing down the pack bond he shared with Stiles; it caused Derek to wrap his arm around Stiles and pull him in just a bit closer. “Had?” Derek furrowed his brow as he caught the past tense of Deaton’s words. _“That’s correct. Each pack that fell, their spark was kidnapped and sacrificed on their respective Nemeton. I believe the alpha is trying to use a very old, very dangerous ritual that will rip the power from the Nemeton and reestablish it in the one completing the ritual. If he is using the ritual I think he is, all of the components need to be very specific. The blade has to be pure silver, laced with blood moon water, and with a hilt made of diamond and iolite. It’s not an easy thing to come by or a cheap one to have made. The sacrifice has to be a natural born spark with strong ties to the Nemeton; stronger than simply living on the same land. The spark needs to bleed out on the altar and just as it dies, their heart needs to be removed and consumed by the one performing the ritual.”_

Derek could feel Stiles go completely still against him; barely even breathing. It was off putting for the young man who was constantly moving to be so still but Derek couldn’t fault him for his reaction. In cold, detached words Deaton had laid out what most likely would have happened to Stiles if he and the pack hadn’t arrived when they did. The only thing that Derek could think to do was to wrap his arms more completely around Stiles and to hold him to his chest; giving him the reassurance and comfort that he needed. “Do you know if he succeeded at stealing the power of the other Nemetons?” Derek hoped that by getting Deaton off of the topic of the details for the ritual and onto information about the other pack that it would help Stiles come out of the anxiety he felt. _“No. The magic of those Nemetons still resided within them, but it was corrupted. It will take them years to even just start cleansing them.”_

Derek let out a breath of relief at Deaton’s words; while it was unfortunate that the sites were corrupted, it was a relief to know that they were only dealing with simple wolves for the moment. Even if said wolves believed themselves to be gods in the making.

“Does...does that mean that our Nemeton is...is it okay?” Stiles' voice was soft when he spoke, and he knew that Derek could feel the unease that was coming off of him; he had to know, though. _“So far as I can tell, our Nemeton is unharmed. Quite the opposite, in fact. The Nemeton is thriving again. It’s growing, reviving itself, and the lands surrounding it are starting to hum with power as well, as if the Nemeton is starting to grant every bit of nature around it access to it’s power.”_ With Deaton’s news, Stiles sagged a bit into Derek’s arms in relief; he couldn’t have bared the idea that he had done harm to the Nemeton. Waking it up, however...Stiles wasn’t sure how that had happened but at least his life was never dull. 

“What do we think the possibility that Adam and his pack are still in our territory is?” Derek’s question caused another shudder to run down Stiles’ spine but he did his best to try and hide it. _“With the Nemeton waking up the chances are that they’ve fled the area; this power is new and strong which means when it is likely to lash out at any foreign danger it feels. I think it’s very unlikely that they’re still in the area. I have notified every Druid I know that stands as guardian of a Nemeton to keep an eye open for the pack. As soon as they surface again, we will know.”_

While the fact that they didn’t know where the asshole’s pack was pissed Derek off, a part of him was relieved to know that his pack was safe for the time being. “Thanks, Deaton.” Derek rubbed his chin over the top of Stiles’ head, the move comforting them both, as they watched Deaton nod but not move to leave. “Yes?” 

_“I’ve also done some research regarding Mr. Stilinski’s….unique circumstances…”_

_~~_

_Stiles’ first moon after his change was one that had everyone on edge; with the way he had been changed, with the lightning that had struck him, they weren’t sure what type of differences there would be and that had everyone antsy. Derek had made sure that everyone would be taken care of for their moon, had places to bunker down, and that left Stiles and himself in the reinforced basement of the building the loft was in. “You don’t have to stay here with me, if you don’t want to…” Stiles could already feel the pull of the moon but he didn’t want to force Derek to babysit him._

_“Hey, none of that.” Derek brushed his fingers over Stiles’ cheek as he tried to get him to slow his pacing; to keep him calm. “I want to be here.” Derek was doing his best to give off a calm energy in an attempt to help negate the anxious energy that he could feel emanating off of Stiles and starting to fill the room. “I don’t want to hurt you, Derek. We don’t know what the hell is going to happen and I don’t want anything to happen to you. I can’t...I won’t let that happen. I couldn’t live with myself if I-” Moving slowly, Derek walked towards Stiles as he started rambling and pulled him into his arms, cutting his words off with soft shushing sounds. “Shh, it’s okay. You aren’t going to hurt me.” If Derek could just reassure Stiles it would help make the night go that much smoother. “Stiles, I know it’s hard to stop thinking over every possible outcome, but I need you to trust me. Just for tonight, let go. I will be here to catch you, I won’t let anything happen to either of us.”_

_It was a gamble, Derek knew, holding him to his chest; especially after Stiles had been bound to the Nemeton. Thankfully, however, Stiles leaned into his arms and Derek could feel some of the tension leech out of him. “Okay….okay.”_

_By the time the moon had reached the apex of its arc, Derek had managed to get Stiles to relax, and even to sit with him, so that when the change happened it wasn’t jarring. When Derek talked Stiles through the change, helped him negotiate each part he could, neither of them expected what Stiles changed into. Not only did Stiles shift fully, but his form was remarkable; the pure white fur of an arctic fox with red fur like fire crawling up his legs, his form standing almost as tall as Derek’s did when fully shifted, the his physical form a mixture of wolf and fox features; from the sleek head shape with a wolf muzzle to the lithe body of a fox with the powerful paws of a wolf. What was even more remarkable, however, was Stiles’ eyes; the way they glowed a brilliant white that lit up the whole room with little sparks of lightning that jumped from the corners of his eyes; and even the little sparks that kept jumping off of the ends of his fur every now and then._

_Once Stiles had finished shifting, Derek was sure to stay calm and still; he didn’t want to cause Stiles stress so he was going to wait for Stiles to come to him. It took a little time before the creature stopped growling at Derek and finally decided he wasn’t a threat long enough for him to slowly approach him; once he seemed to connect the scent with Derek, Stiles relaxed fully and butted his head against Derek’s chest, knocking the man over, and then promptly laid out on top of him with a contented huff. The lack of blood thirst was something that Derek spent the night pondering while he was pinned beneath Stiles’ form._

_~~_

Stiles glanced back at Derek before turning his gaze back to Deaton. “What-what have you found?” Stiles felt the brush of Derek’s thumbs on his hips as he continued to offer Stiles comfort and support. _“Our Nemeton, as I said, has always had deeper power; a deeper connection to the supernatural world. The first druid and pack that settled this area co-existed with an ancient family of Zenko Kitsune; according to the druid’s books, the Zenko had felt a pull and followed it to Beacon Hills, settling in the Nemeton grove where the pull was the strongest. The Zenko are the ones that helped coax and cultivate the Nemeton; their magic was and still is an integral part of it.”_

“Wait, what the hell is a Zenko Kitsune?” Stiles startled when Derek’s voice spoke over his shoulder; he had been so lost in his own thoughts for a moment that he hadn’t expected Derek’s voice. “Zenko are a variety of Kitsune; there’s a small entry in the Bestiary that Peter let me borrow to translate. They’re celestial fox spirits. There wasn’t much written on them other than that they were typically ‘good’ spirits.” Stiles looked to Deaton for confirmation, earning himself a nod. _“Very impressive memory, Mr. Stilinski. Yes. The Zenko Kitsune were and still are associated with the Japanese God, Inari Okami. According to the druid’s records, the Zenko family that settled here in Beacon Hills were already centuries old by the time they came and as time wore on and other creatures came to try and steal the power of the young Nemeton, the majority of them gave up their corporeal forms and allowed their magic and energy to be absorbed into said young Nemeton; doing this gave the Nemeton unrivaled power with centuries of knowledge. But most of all, it gave the Nemeton sentience; the ability to think and act of its own accord more-so than any other Nemeton.”_

Stiles licked his lips as he started processing Deatons words; a million different questions running through his mind before he reigned them all in and asked the only important one for the moment. “Okay, but what does this have to do with me?” When Deaton gave him a look that practically screamed ‘did you seriously have to ask that’ Stiles just stared right back at him. Which, stubborn nature for the win, caused Deaton to sigh and finally answer. 

_“I believe that when the lightning struck you, amidst your change, it opened up a doorway between you and the Zenko spirits within the Nemeton. I believe that those spirits infused some of themselves into you, essentially turning you into a Zenko Kitsune/Werewolf hybrid of some kind. The pictures of your form and the way Mr. Hale described the electricity associated with it lead me to believe I’m correct; but as far as I know this has never happened. So there isn’t much, if any, information as to what you can expect going forward.”_ Derek ran a hand over Stiles’ side as the younger man looked as if he was trying to process everything that Deaton was telling them; it was all overwhelming to Derek. And if it was overwhelming to Derek, he could only imagine how Stiles was feeling with all of this information.

“So, basically, you’re saying we get to wing it?” Stiles tried but he couldn’t stop the snort that came from him as he spoke; shaking his head. “Because of course. This is my life, after all.” With a sigh, Stiles leaned more into Derek’s arms; physical comfort and displays of affection had started to become the norm if they were in the same room and, honestly, Stiles was still awed each time Derek returned the touches. Derek’s responding chuckle as he hugged Stiles tighter to him made Stiles smile as well. “You never do anything by halves, I’ll give you that. Alright, let’s head home. Deaton, let us know if you hear anything?” Derek didn’t even bother to wait for a response before he was leading Stiles out of Deaton’s office and back towards the car and home. 

\---------------------------------------

Several months into his change found Stiles once more being tossed onto his ass on the ground by Boyd; though the rest of the pack usually took their turns as well. With a groan, Stiles decided to just stay there, sprawled on the ground; they were just likely to throw him back on the ground anyway. “Come on, Stiles, get up.” Derek’s voice calling to him just made him growl and hold a hand up to flip Derek off. “What’s the point? All of you just keep throwing me back down here.” Even as he spoke, Stiles was pulling himself up to at least sitting; throwing a glare at Scott who was just laughing. “Laugh it up, fuzzball.” Even though Stiles muttered the words under his breath he knew that Scott had heard him when he snorted and renewed his laughter. 

“You’re being dramatic, come on. Get up.” Derek was already walking over and holding out a hand to help pull Stiles back up onto his feet. “You’re doing better than you were six months ago, no one is perfect overnight.” Stiles huffed at Derek but still he leaned into the touch that Derek was offering, sighing slightly when one of Derek’s hands moved to rest on the back of his neck. “No, I’m not. Otherwise I wouldn’t be landing on my ass every time we train.” When Derek started massaging the back of his neck, Stiles didn’t even bother to try and stifle the groan that came from him; which also caused the rest of the pack to all snicker and make catcalls. _“Hey, as much as I’d love the show, this is training hour. NOT fuck like rabbits hour! Hey!”_ Stiles laughed softly as he caught sight of Boyd lightly smacking his hand on Erica’s ass for her taunt. 

“She has a point. Later.” The low timbre of Derek’s voice was enough to send a shiver of promise streaming down Stiles’ spine; it had taken them several months to finally get out of their own way but they had finally taken those last few steps to becoming a true pair. Much to Erica’s relief if her _‘It’s about fucking time!’_ was anything to go on. “You better make good on that promise.” Stiles only managed to pout out his bottom lip before Derek was landing his hand on Stiles’ ass with a loud crack and sending him back out to train; this time with Isaac. 

Stiles was in the middle of his own awkward victory dance, because he’d managed to get Isaac on his ass instead of being there himself, when Deaton’s car, quickly followed by Chris’, pulled up and both men were making their way towards them. Deaton didn’t usually come to the loft if it wasn’t an emergency so the fact that he showed up instead of calling them would have amped the tension up enough to begin with; but add in the fact that Chris was with him and everyone just held their breath. There was enough tension in the air that Stiles could feel his beast starting to try and rise to the surface; it got close enough that Stiles could feel the crackle of electricity as it started crawling over his skin and sparking out the side of his eyes. While he had gotten better at his control, there were still occasions where it slipped some; thankfully Derek was there beside him in a matter of seconds, wrapping his arm around him to give him an anchor point as he spoke. “Deaton. Chris. What’s going on?” 

_“I just got a call from one of my contacts; a hunter up in Northern Washington. There had been a string of murders in their area and when they reached out to their local pack they were told that a rogue pack was trying to move in to take over. A little bit of research later and they’ve found Adam’s pack.”_ The second the words left Chris’ mouth, Stiles went absolutely rigid in Derek’s hold; if it wasn’t for the way that Derek was holding him, so that Stiles could feel his chest rise and fall, Stiles was sure he would have had an anxiety attack. The rest of the pack must have felt it, because in the blink of an eye Stiles found himself surrounded by the rest of them as well; Isaac in particular was wrapped around Stiles in a protective hug, as if he could stop the words themselves from having any impact on Stiles. 

Derek’s grip on Stiles tightened protectively as the reality of Chris’ words hit them all; they knew where the pack was, that meant they could finally hunt them down. “Are they still there?” Derek needed to know; if they were still in Washington he would have to figure out how he was going to get up there to get them; and whether or not the pack would be coming with him. Add onto that the fact that he’d have to talk with the local pack to ensure they don’t think their pack was trying to move in as well. _“No. Because of the number of bodies turning up, my contacts went in to take them down. They were able to detain three of them; the alpha tried to use the fourth as a hostage and killed him when that didn’t work. It took some doing, but between Deaton and the local druid they were able to bind the three in spells that would keep them contained while they transported them down here. They’ll be getting here sometime tomorrow.”_

“Which...do we know which one didn’t survive?” Stiles gripped at Derek as he asked, taking what support from him that he could; he had to know. At least once a week Stiles would wake up screaming from nightmares, there were lightning scorches all over his and Derek’s shared bedroom to prove it; Stiles needed to know if Jonah was dead, perhaps if he was dead the nightmares would start to decrease. Realistically, Stiles knew that wasn’t how it worked, but he hoped. 

_“I was told that the alpha called him Abbadon.”_ Stiles nodded stiffly at Deaton’s words; he wasn’t sure if he was upset or relieved to hear that it hadn’t been Jonah. Derek brushed his cheek against the top of Stiles’ head before pressing a kiss to his temple. “What will you do with them?” He kept his voice soft, it wasn’t as if he needed to speak loudly, everyone there would hear him just fine, and he hoped that keeping a calm tone would help the rest of the pack reel the tension back a bit. Derek watched closely as Deaton and Chris shared a look before Chris finally spoke. 

_“We’re leaving that decision up to you. Deaton wanted to bring them before the new council, but I told him we would give you the choice.”_ Stiles didn’t even have time to respond before Deaton was chiming in as well. _“As you know, Mr. Argent and I have been working with the Druids and Mr. Argent’s new order of Hunters to establish the new council, to find a way to bring the possibility of justice to the supernatural world. The Council of the Crested Moon. If you let us take them, they will be brought here to stand before the council where they will be held accountable for their deeds. All wronged parties that are still living will be given the opportunity to share their stories; which will be taken into account when the Council decides what needs to be done with the pack.”_

Derek could feel the warring emotions that were going through Stiles; and knowing him like he did, Derek was sure that Stiles was trying to think about what was best for everyone instead of what it was he needed. To give Stiles time, Derek squeezed his hip and looked at Deaton and Chris. “You said they’re arriving tomorrow? Let’s give Stiles some time to think over what it is he wants, maybe talk as a pack if needed, and you’ll have an answer by tomorrow afternoon. This isn’t something you want a knee-jerk answer for.” Stiles managed to stifle it, but he nearly cried in relief as Derek spoke; giving him the time he needed to go over everything at his own pace instead of being forced to give them an answer right then and there. 

To Stiles, it looked as if the two men standing across from them had expected that; and truthfully he wouldn’t have been surprised if they had. Though, he could tell by the minute tick in Deaton’s jaw that he wasn’t happy with the fact that Stiles hadn’t agreed instantly that the Council should deal with them. He couldn’t blame him, he knew that if his father were to hear the choices he probably would have already chosen to have the pack over to the council; then again, Stiles had never seen his father as angry as he was the day they told him what Jonah and his pack had done to Stiles. Distracted by his own thoughts as he was, recalling the day that his father had found out, Stiles didn’t notice that Chris and Deaton had left until the sound of the cars pulling out of the driveway pulled him back to reality.

Looking at the way everyone was already distracted, Derek knew it would be useless to try and continue training for the day. “Alright, I think we’ll call training for today. Clean up and we’ll order some food.” When everyone else went to start cleaning themselves off, Derek kept Stiles tucked against him as he led him back into the loft.. “Let’s head inside and get you cleaned up too; then we can talk through everything going through your head.” 

\---------------------------------------

By the time that Derek came to practically drag him out of the shower, Stiles was already exhausted; his body felt heavy and his mind already felt like he was trying to wade through pudding. “Do I have to?” Stiles knew he was whining, knew it, but this was a conversation that he just did not want to have. With a soft chuckle, Derek grabbed the nearby towel and held it open for Stiles; wrapping him in it before he pulled him into his arms and just held him. “No, not if you really don’t want to, but I think it would help. We don’t want to talk you into one decision or another, but we do want to help you through this.” All Derek could do to try and help impart some calm to Stiles was wrap him close; brushing his cheek against the wet hair. “It won’t be all bad, I made sure that there were extra curly fries set aside just for you.” 

Stiles didn’t bother hiding his snort of laughter as he tucked himself tightly against Derek’s chest; even going so far as tucking his head under Derek’s chin and letting out a soft sigh. “You sure know a way to a man’s heart, you know that?” Though his voice was muffled by Derek’s chest, he knew the other man heard him. “Yea yea, let’s get you dressed and then fed. The last thing we need to deal with is you getting grouchy because you’re hungry on top of everything.” Rolling his eyes at Derek’s words, Stiles squeezed Derek’s waist once before he was poking his side and stepping out of his arms. “I’m not the one that turns into a Sourwolf when I don’t get enough food every couple of hours. That’s you.” Teasing Derek helped Stiles feel better; helped him feel more like himself than the terrified shell that just the mention of Jonah had turned him into. 

Instead of pulling on his own clothes, Stiles moved to Derek’s side of the room and pulled out a pair of his sweats and pulled them on; they were giant on him but they helped wrap him up in Derek’s scent so he didn’t care. Stiles was pulling out the fourth shirt from Derek’s dresser to try, the other three hadn’t felt right, when Derek came over and placed a hand on top of his; stilling his movements. “Here, Sti.” Taking his hand away for a second, Derek pulled his own shirt over his head before he was sliding it back on over Stiles’ head. As the fabric settled, Stiles let out a relieved sigh and gave Derek an almost shy smile. “Thanks, Sourwolf.” 

Unable to put it off any longer, Stiles let Derek lead him back down the stairs and towards the couches where everyone was gathered. Instead of the couches, however, Stiles came to a stop when he saw that the pack had cleared out the space in front of the couches and were all piled in an effective puppy pile on mattresses that had been laid out; the sheer amount of pillows and blankets surrounding the wolves was staggering, Stiles didn’t even know they actually had that many. _“Stiles! I saved you some pepperoni before Scott could finish it all!”_ Isaac’s bright smile as he held a plate up for him only grew wider when Scott made an indignant squawk of a noise. _“Dude! I’m not the only one eating the pepperoni!”_

With a snort of laughter, Stiles took the plate and settled on Derek and his usual spot at the top of the mattress where Derek could sit with his back against the couch. “No, but you can usually kill a single pizza on your own. Thanks Iz!” Stiles leaned forward to grab a couple pieces of the meat lovers pizza for Derek; giving Derek time to settle into his spot behind him so that Stiles was leaning back against his chest while they ate. Derek grumbling his thanks as he took a slice of the pizza off of Stiles’ plate and practically devoured it whole. _“That’s cold, dude!”_ Stiles rolled his eyes and easily deflected the pillow that Scott had lobbed at him, making sure it didn’t land in the food. Even with the pack idly joking back and forth with each other, Stiles knew that they were all trying to give him time but he could feel the way they were all anxious to know what the plan was. Stiles hadn’t realized that he was lost in thought until Erica was kicking his foot and holding out a carton of curly fries for him. _“Eat up, Batman. The sooner you do, the sooner we can talk and get rid of this tension shit.”_

Leave it to Erica to be direct; she never was the beat around the bush type, so Stiles wasn’t surprised at all. Instead of answering her, he took the carton and set it in his lap to save it for after he and Derek finished the pizza left on the plate; and that he took his time eating. He was sure Erica would have grumbled some more, trying to hurry him a bit so that they could have their talk, but he could feel Derek practically glaring at the entire pack to make them let him set the pace. Setting aside the empty plate, Stiles picked up the carton of fries and let out a sigh. “Alright, fine. Talk.” The tension in the room was starting to build the longer he didn’t talk, so he figured they might as well talk before everyone was so wound up things got out of hand. 

_“We just want to know what it is you want to do. We want to help you with whatever it is you need.”_ Stiles felt Derek’s chin resting on his shoulder as he held him close; stealing a fry with a soft grumble against Stiles’ ear to show his agreement with Boyd’s words. Stiles knew what it was he wanted to do, he just wasn’t sure that the rest of the pack would agree with him. Shrugging a shoulder, Stiles stuffed a french fry into his mouth to delay any answer for just a little longer. “Whatever you choose, we’re with you.” Derek had a feeling he already knew what Stiles was going to choose and he wanted to make sure Stiles knew that he wasn’t alone; that there wasn’t a wrong answer in this instance. As much as he may want to rip the throats out of each and every one of that fucking pack, Derek knew that that wasn’t the type of person that Stiles was. Sure, when it came to the safety of those he loved, Stiles could be just as ruthless as he could against any threat; but when it came to himself? Well, suffice to say that Stiles had a self-sacrificing side that had a tendency to drive Derek out of his mind with worry; but it was something that made Stiles who he was, and Derek wouldn’t change Stiles for the world 

Using Derek’s words as comfort, Stiles nodded and set the carton aside in order to pull his knees up to his chest and to wrap his arms tightly around them. “There is a part of me that wants nothing more than to see them hurt just as much as they’ve hurt others. But that would make me just as bad as they are. I’m not a murderer.” Stiles could feel Derek’s hand brushing against his sides; giving him whatever strength Stiles needed. “But that’s not who I am...I can’t...that’s not who I am. It’s not just me that they hurt, though. They hurt so many people and those people deserve to get their justice as well. I’m….I’m going to have the Council take care of them.” Stiles let his chin rest on his bent knees and carefully scanned to look at each member of the pack. Some of them had a look of confusion on their face, Erica looked a little angry, and some looked worried; there were a few that even looked proud, though. 

“I just….Deaton and Chris have been working to try and set up some kind of justice system that is fair to all the supernatural. If I just kill someone, that’s not only taking justice from someone else but it’s undermining the whole reason behind setting up this type of thing. I’m better than they are. _WE_ are better than they are.” Stiles had to stop for a moment, he could feel the slight tremor that had started to run through his body before Derek was tugging him back slowly so that he could hold him again. When he spoke again, he had to swallow past the lump in his throat before he could get words out. “I have given them too much space in my mind and if I were to just have them killed, I don’t think that would help matters. I think it would only make it worse. Doing this, making them face the council and all the people they’ve hurt along the way...it’ll allow me to say my piece and then they won’t have a place in my head or my life anymore. I won’t let them.” 

For a second everyone was quiet, Stiles could see the way that they were all processing his words and actually giving everything he’s said some deep thought; then Derek was hugging him, honest to gods hugging him to him and practically purring in his ear. The sound, as weird as it was to think of a werewolf purring, actually caused Stiles to melt into his embrace. Even having an idea about what it was that Stiles was going to choose, Derek still marvelled at the strength of the man that he was able to call his; the sheer amount of compassion that Stiles had for others just completely awed him. It was just another reason that Derek loved him. “I love you.” Derek’s whispered words caught Stiles off guard, causing him to turn his head so that he could look Derek in the eyes. “What?” He wanted to be sure that what Derek said was true, that he hadn’t made that up in his head. “I said, I love you.” Derek’s chuckle was light as he shook his head and kissed Stiles softly; their lips brushing in probably one of the chastest kisses they’d shared since they started being a couple. 

With a little squirming, Stiles was able to turn around enough to thread his fingers into Derek’s hair and to kiss him again. “Say it again?” He said softly as they pressed their foreheads together; still not sure if this was a dream or not. The raised eyebrow that Derek gave him, followed by the roll of his eyes, was enough to at least assure Stiles that this really was Derek. “I love you.” Stiles let out a soft chuckle of his own and closed his eyes, allowing him to just feel Derek there with him. With a big smile, Stiles opened his eyes again. “I love you too.” Stiles would have been content to stay in their sappy love bubble, but it seemed that the others weren’t; judging by the pillow that was lobbed and smacked the both of them in the side of the head. _“Enough of the sappy shit, we’ve talked now let’s watch a damn movie already.”_ Erica’s words lacked any actual heat behind them, but it was enough to break their bubble; causing both of their cheeks to heat up just a bit as Stiles turned back around and snuggled into his chest. “Fine, but I get to pick the movie.” 

The only response he got was a chorus of huffs and grumbles before Derek gave a little growl at the rest of them to get them to settle while Stiles tossed in the first Avengers movie he could grab. 

\-------------------------------------

When the time came for Stiles to give his ‘statement’ he opted to speak with them privately; thankfully the members of the deciding council allowed it after Derek politely said that they could take that or they could fuck off. Naturally Deaton reprimanded Derek for it, but that didn’t mean that Stiles didn’t find it hilarious. The only downside to speaking to the council privately was that they didn’t want anyone else in the room with them; they didn’t want someone influencing or distracting Stiles while he relayed his tale. 

A tale that took almost two hours to fully tell, making sure that Stiles didn’t leave out any details; honestly Stiles found it to be a miracle that he was able to keep his emotions in check while he did. The most that happened was a few welled up tears that he was able to keep back. It was only when Stiles left, when Derek wrapped him in his arms, that Stiles’ let himself break down; there were tears, yes, but mostly it was just that Stiles was feeling utterly exhausted. So much so that he practically passed out the second Derek got him into the Camaro; with Derek’s leather jacket surrounding him, it was just an added comfort.

Derek glanced over at Stiles, rolling his eyes a bit when a soft snore came from the sleeping man, before he kept driving. After the night before, with Stiles stubbornly refusing to sleep, Derek knew that he would be exhausted so he had planned a little surprise. The drive up to the lake was a couple hours, so it gave Stiles the chance to catch up on some sleep: and it gave Derek the chance to work out the nerves that he was starting to feel build up. Before everything that had happened, Derek did his best to keep Stiles at arms length; he didn’t feel like he had deserved a mate even before meeting Stiles. So, suffice to say that when Derek did finally meet Stiles, when his wolf recognized him as his mate, Derek did everything he could to distance himself from him. He had convinced himself that Stiles deserved better than a broken man. What he hadn’t done, however, was take Stiles’ feelings into account. 

When they finally came back together, when he finally had a second chance to be with Stiles, Derek had sworn not to throw it all away again. They had talked occasionally about what it meant to be mates, how a wolf or wolves knew when they found each other, and how deep the bond could actually go; at least as far as Derek had read. The only real life examples Derek had for mates were his parents and a few of the older members of his mother’s pack, but that was so long ago, and Derek was far more interested in other things when he was younger. Derek hadn’t really said outright that he had wanted to form a mating bond with Stiles, he had been waiting for Stiles to broach the subject; when he had told this to Erica and Isaac, however, Erica had taken it upon herself to smack him upside the back of his head and remind him that Stiles couldn’t read his mind and that, if Derek wanted this, he had to be the one to let Stiles know that that was what he wanted. 

That’s what Derek hoped to do at the lake. 

Once the car came to a stop, Derek checked to see that Stiles was still asleep before he was getting out of the car and grabbing the blanket that he had tossed in the back; and the picnic basket that Isaac had shoved into his hands as well. He had to hand it to the young beta, the idea of providing for his mate made his wolf purr with content. Keeping the car and Stiles in sight, Derek made quick work of setting out the blanket and basket before he made his way to the car to wake Stiles up. “Stiles, time to wake up.” He said as he opened the door to his side and unbuckled him, rolling his eyes when Stiles only made a noise and pouted. “Either you wake up or I’m going to throw you in the water fully dressed. And that includes my jacket. If you make me do that, I’ll tan your hide.” His voice held a joking edge to it and he knew that Stiles could tell when he caught the corners of the younger man’s lips pulling up into a smile. 

“You’re such a grump, Sourwolf. Maybe you’re the one who needs a nap.” Stiles stretched as he spoke, running a hand over his face before looking around. “Where….you brought us to the lake?” When Stiles climbed out of the car he tucked himself in close against Derek, closing the door behind him, even while looking around; grinning when he caughts sight of the blanket and basket down by the edge of the lake. “What’s all this? Is my Sourwolf flexing his romantic side?” Stiles couldn’t resist teasing Derek, especially when it caused an adorable blush to spread over Derek’s cheeks and up to the tips of his ears. 

“Are you complaining?” Derek tried to keep a straight face, but Stiles could see the way that he was still a little unsure; so to help soothe that feeling Stiles rose up on his toes a bit to plant a soft kiss against Derek’s lips. “Not at all. I think it’s perfect.” All it took to get Derek to move again was a little tug to his waist; a bright smile lighting up Stiles' face as he took in the picnic set up before he was sinking onto the blanket. “Come on, sit with me.” Once Derek was settled behind him, his body tugged back until he was resting back on Derek’s chest, Stiles let out a happy sigh. “Thank you for this.” He whispered, his head cushioned on Derek’s shoulder as they just watched the water together. 

“For you, the world.” Stiles smiled even brighter when he felt the words as a rumble against his back. For some time, they both just relaxed; Stiles rambling chatter the only sound that filled the space while Derek pulled food out and held bites up for Stiles between words. After a while, however, even Stiles’ chatter seemed to quiet down as well; watching as the sun started to move towards the horizon, slowly setting over the lake. The whole time that Stiles was rambling, Derek was trying to figure out the best way to come out and tell him that he wanted to claim Stiles as his mate, officially; in the traditional sense. With a soft sigh, Derek decided to just dive right in. 

“Stay with me. Forever.” When Stiles turned his head to look up at Derek in a bit of confusion, he couldn’t really blame him. “I thought that was already the plan?” Derek let out a soft sigh and shook his head at Stiles’ question. “It is, but I mean, I want you to be my mate; officially.” Derek sighed when the words kept coming out as a jumble; growling just a little before he took a breath and decided to try again; ignoring Stiles’ amused smile while he did. “You know what I mean. The mate bond, I want to complete it with you….whenever you’re ready.” Derek held his breath, actually held it, when Stiles carefully pried himself from Derek’s arms so that he could turn and look at him; every inch of him was terrified that Stiles would say no, that Stiles would leave him. Even as Stiles gripped his chin lightly to get him to look up at him, Derek was bracing himself. 

“Hey? How can I say yes when you won’t even look at me?” Stiles kept his voice soft, he could feel how unsure Derek was, how tense his body had become with his fear, and Stiles hated that Derek was so scared he’d turn him down. When Derek looked up at him in surprise, his eyes wide and searching, Stiles just smiled at him and gave him that moment to absorb what it was he had said. “What?” The disbelief in Derek’s voice almost made Stiles coo audibly before he was leaning forward to press a solid kiss to his lips; hoping to impart just how much he loved him with that simple touch. “I said yes, you grump. I want to spend forever with you, in whatever way I can get it. I just didn’t want to push you and come off as seeming insecure and clingy.” A faint blush colored Stiles’ cheeks at his admittance; pulling the smallest of chuckles from Derek as he wrapped his arms more securely around Stiles and tugged him closer. “You are clingy, but I love that about you.” Stiles growled softly, the sound playful more than anything else, before rolling his eyes. “Oh shut up and kiss me, will you?” His words earned a soft laugh from Derek before he was rolling them over and settling his weight over Stiles; kissing him as he pinned him to the blanket. 

“I’m going to give you five seconds to strip and get in that lake. Then I’m coming in after you and we’ll see how long it takes you to fall apart on my cock. Five. Four....” Derek’s voice was rough and deep and caused a shiver to run down Stiles’ back before he was scrambling out from beneath Derek and practically ripping his clothes off; tripping over his jeans before he was free of them and doing a shallow dive into the lake. By the time he surfaced again and he wiped the water out of his eyes, Derek wasn’t anywhere to be found; that caused Stiles to frown for about two seconds before he felt something wrap around his waist. The yelp of surprise that Stiles let out melted into a moan as Derek broke the surface of the water and pulled Stiles back fully against his body; Derek’s cock hard and heavy as it pressed against his ass and his own cock throbbing as Derek wrapped his fingers around the base. “Fuck...Der…” 

Stiles’ heart was hammering away in his chest, thudding harder against where Derek’s arm had him pinned firmly back against him, and Derek had barely touched him so far. “Not yet. I want you begging for me before I finally give you what you want.” Derek’s teeth closed in a nip to Stiles’ earlobe; stubble scratching at the sensitive skin behind his ear while Stiles reached back to fist his hand in Derek’s hair. “You really think I’ll beg?” Stiles knew he was pushing, but Stiles always melted whenever Derek really took control. “I think you’re going to beg because that’s the only way you get what you want.” When Derek growled against his neck, his teeth continuing their downward travel, Stiles moaned softly and his head tipped to the side so that Derek would have unfettered access; willingly showing Derek he was submitting to him. 

“Mmm, that’s my good mate.” The shiver that ran through Stiles’ body caused his back to arch just enough that his ass pressed back more firmly against Derek’s cock; causing Derek to make a deep rumbling noise of approval against his back. Keeping Stiles pinned to his chest, his hand slowly stroking the length of Stiles’ cock, Derek started leaving little bite marks along Stiles’ neck and shoulder; the marks disappearing almost as soon as Derek left them. The whole time, Derek kept his touch firm but slow; taking his time to build Stiles up stroke by stroke, kiss by kiss and nip by nip. Using his grip on Stiles, Derek turned him around until they were face to face; his hands dropping to Stiles’ thighs to lift him up and guiding Stiles’ legs to wrap around his waist. One hand gripped Stiles’ thigh in an almost bruising grip as he brought the other up to press a few fingers against Stiles’ lips. “Suck, I want to see you use your mouth for something other than talking.” 

Eagerly Stiles sucked Derek’s fingers into his mouth, his tongue twisting around each digit as he sucked hard; dragging his teeth along the pads of each finger to nip hard enough that Derek growled in his ear before taking his fingers and replacing them with his mouth. His tongue demanded more of Stiles’ submission while he held him tightly and his fingers edged around Stiles’ rim; slowly applying pressure and capturing the soft needy noises that came from Stiles. Stiles whined as he bit at Derek’s tongue, his nails raking over Derek’s shoulders as his hips squirmed and he rolled his hips down to try and get Derek to move faster, to give him more. “Please….please, Derek.” He pulled back just enough to beg, biting and tugging at Derek’s bottom lip. “Please….I want to feel every bit of you when you claim me.” 

“You can beg better than that, let me hear you.” Despite his words, Derek slipped another finger into Stiles to stretch him further; feeling the catch in Stiles’ breath in his chest seconds before he felt Stiles’ fingers tangling sharply into his hair and tugging at it. “Derek...please! Please, alpha. Please fuck me. Claim me.” Each word brushed Stiles’ lips against Derek’s own but his words pulled another groan from Derek before he was sliding his fingers free of Stiles’ body and lifting him up just a little higher on his waist before guiding Stiles’ body back down; using Stiles’ own weight to slid him fully down onto his cock in one swift movement. “Fuck!” Stiles’ cry echoed over the water as he rolled his hips against Derek, grinding him deeper within him once his body had adjusted to the sudden intrusion. 

“Want to hear you.” Derek spoke through grit teeth; holding tightly to his control, keeping his movements slow and teasing until Stiles was practically vibrating with need, nothing but the sweet sound of Stiles begging for him to move, to go faster, harder filling the air around them. “Mine.” Derek’s eyes flashed brightly when he let go of his tightly wound control, keeping Stiles in place while he railed into him; growling deeply when Stiles’ body tightened around him. “Yours….yes...yours.” Stiles’ words were babbled but as he opened his eyes Derek could see that they were flashing brightly right back at him. Stiles’ words brought Derek’s wolf even closer to the surface, that primitive piece of him that wanted nothing more than to claim their mate; instinct driving them both to nip and kiss at their necks the closer to the edge they got. Moving in tandem, they both let out a soft growl before their teeth were sinking into the meat of each other’s neck. The second Stiles’ teeth sunk into Derek’s neck, the second he felt Derek’s sink into his, it felt as if something deep within him snapped into place and that feeling sent Stiles’ over the edge; coming so hard that sparks of light flashed before his eyes. Derek followed after him as the bond solidified; his arms locked tightly around Stiles to keep him as close and possible as he drew his tongue over the mate bond on Stiles’ neck, to ensure their scents were permanently mixed. 

Stiles held as tightly to Derek as he could with his whole body trembling as Derek carried him out of the water and to the blanket, carefully collapsing onto the blanket while keeping Stiles atop of him. Closing his eyes, Stiles focused on the newly solidified bond; the bright white thread that pulsed within him, resonating with love and everything Stiles associated with Derek. With a dopey smile, Stiles lifted his head just enough to rest his chin on Derek’s chest and looked at him. “I can feel you. Not like, physically, obviously I can feel you.” As if to prove his point, Stiles wiggled his body a little bit against Derek; getting a soft rumbling growl from the man beneath him for moving. “But I _feel_ you. Fuck, I love you so much, Derek.” Derek let out a soft, rough chuckle as he reached up to tug gently at Stiles’ hair. “I can feel you too.” Cupping the back of Stiles’ head he gently guided Stiles’ to him so that he could kiss him, conveying everything he felt in that kiss. “I love you. Always.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to leave a comment, letting me know what you think! I'm always open to constructive criticism!


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